


The Bedroom Murderer

by Bibspips98



Series: The Bedroom Murderer [1]
Category: Law & Order: SVU
Genre: Alternate Universe - Canon Divergence, Anxiety Disorder, Attempted Murder, Attempted Rape/Non-Con, Book 1, Character Death, Cults, Death, Eventual Relationships, Eventual Sex, Eventual Smut, F/M, Falling In Love, Fluff, Fluff and Smut, Grief/Mourning, How Do I Tag, Investigations, Love, Love Confessions, Love Triangles, Military, Military Backstory, Military Uniforms, Murder, Murder Mystery, Murderers, Police, Series, Sex
Language: English
Status: In-Progress
Published: 2020-08-09
Updated: 2020-09-13
Packaged: 2021-03-05 20:53:53
Rating: Mature
Warnings: Graphic Depictions Of Violence
Chapters: 20
Words: 30,847
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/25811632
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/Bibspips98/pseuds/Bibspips98
Summary: The New York SVU unit is receiving a new consultant, to replace the brutally murdered colleague. There is a Murderer at large, feelings flying, and a young new detective.
Relationships: Dominick "Sonny" Carisi Jr./Original Female Character(s), Dominick "Sonny" Carisi Jr./Reader, Dominick "Sonny" Carisi Jr./You, Nick Amaro/Amanda Rollins, Olivia Benson/Brian Cassidy, Rafael Barba/Original Female Character(s), Rafael Barba/Reader
Series: The Bedroom Murderer [1]
Series URL: https://archiveofourown.org/series/1878517
Comments: 5
Kudos: 20





	1. The Death of Catheryn

March 8th, 2018

New York City is engulfed in a quiet and cold night. The 16th Precinct was filled with phones ringing, 

“Olivia Benson, SVU” The precinct’s captain picked up the phone and was given the information for a crime her department was needed. She called her detectives and found her way to W 9th Street. 

The Apartment was filled with officers, and the lights from the police cars travelled through the windows on to the lifeless body. The bed’s white sheets were filled with blood, creating a violent pattern. The white walls were smeared with thick red blood, forming a bloody phrase, “YOU ALMOST CAUGHT ME! TOO SLOW BITCH!” 

“The Victim’s Name is Catheryn Robinson, 27 years old, She’s been dead for approximately 5 hours. That means she died around 4 pm. Death by Asphyxiation. And…” The ME stopped and looked at the Detective and sighed “Her eyes are missing, and have been replaced with two coal stones.” 

The tall blond detective looked at his college and sighed heavily, 

“Does Olivia know?” 

“No, she’s on her way.”

The ME bagged the body up and took it back to the Morgue. The Captain arrived and walked straight to the blond detective, 

“Carisi, what happened? Is it her? Is Catheryn okay?” The detective held Olivia’s shoulders with both hands lightly and shakes his head, with a deep sadness on his face. 

“I see… What do we know?” She asked determined

“Well, We know its The Bedroom Murderer. Her eyes where missing.” The other detective said while inspecting the windows and doors.

“Okay, Fin and Carisi, you take care of the apartment, I’ll send Amaro and Rollins to gather witnesses and I’ll alert Interpol.” 

________________________________________

March 12th, 2018

Florence woke up as the plane landed. She looked out the window and saw John F.Kennedy Airport. She had arrived in New York. Once it was safe to unbuckle and leave, she got her bag and left the plane. 

“I’ve Landed! Call you when I get settled! 

xoxo, Love you” she texted and called a cab. Although she had never been in America, she has seen enough Hollywood movies to have some notion of how cabs worked in the big apple. 

The ride to the 16th precinct was still long, so she closed her eyes just for a moment. 

-Her curly red hair bounced as she walked the streets of busy London. Her big round eyes scanned the streets. She stopped in front of a store window and stared at her reflection. Her Heterocromic eyes staring back at her, one bright hazel and the other bright green. A slender shadow stopped next to her and she turned. 

Catheryn stood face to face with her, “Florence. Where were you? I called you! I needed you!” She said angry, Florence felt guilt invade her and she grabbed her friends hand tightly, “Cath, I’m sorry! I….. - 

She woke up with the cab driver honking at another cab and greeting him with a smile. They had almost arrived at the precinct. 

Once she got there, she tipped the cab driver, thanked him and stared at the entrance of the precinct as she lit a cigarette. She let her head shake off the small dream she had on the cab while the smoke overpowered her lungs. 

Her phone rang, the screen identified the caller “Boss”, she sighed and picked up the call,

“Yeah?” She asked on the phone while letting out the cigarette smoke, the voice on the other side of the line was rough, and had a strong Scottish accent,

“Florence, ‘re ya in New York?” He asked, not bothering to ask her how the flight had been, or if she was okay. 

“Yeah, I’m here” her British accent clashed with his Scottish one. 

“Good, good. All the re-location paperwork will be e-mailed to ye’. And for now, we’ll get ye’ a hotel room. In a week of two ye’ can get an apartment.” She sighed and put out her cigarette not responding “And Florence, try to catch the bastard that killed Catheryn.” 

Florence hung up the call and fought the tears that threatened to fall. She breathed in deeply and prepared herself to enter the Police precinct. She pulled her sunglasses up, so they would hold her hair in place, and put one her normal silver round glasses. 

The precinct was filled with policemen, Florence caught the elevator and pressed the 3rd-floor button. Her back ached from the uncomfortable 11-hour flight. Her hands looked roughed up from her last interrogation. The elevator doors opened and she walked in a big room, filled with desks and detectives working. There was a whiteboard with Catheryn’s photo on it with “VICTIM” written on top in red. Florence sighed in some courage and walked toward a bulky detective and touched his shoulder slightly. He turned and faced her, his right eyebrow sticking up, 

“Can I Help you?” He asked staring at the red-haired girl, she looks too young to be a police or the new Interpol agent, so he assumed she was a victim. 

“My name is Florence Williams, I am the new Interpol agent, I have been re-located here. I have been given orders to work with you and provide you a 100% of my time. Interpol wants this taken care as fast as possible.” Her British accent was heavy, the detective nodded and signalled a woman to approach them, she had a warm smile. 

“Hi, I’m Captain Benson. Can I help you?” She asked, the detective talking to Florence replied before she could,

“It’s Catheryn’s substitute. She’s the new Interpol Agent.” With this Florence pressed her lips and nodded, confirming what the detective had said. She pulled out her badge and showed it to the American Detectives. 


	2. Killer's M.O

March 12th, 2018 

Evening

Florence had put her bags in the Captain’s office and changed clothes. She pulled her hair into a ponytail and entered the conference room. There were seven faces staring at her once she entered, two of those were the Captain and the detective from earlier. The rest were unknown faces to her. She sighed,

“Good Evening everybody. My Name is Florence Williams, I’m 26 years old, from Dublin Ireland, And I am the new Interpol Special Victim’s Agent. I am here to help you and find whoever killed Catheryn Robinson.” 

“Nice to meet you. I’m Fin” one of the detectives introduced himself as he sat down comfortably. She smiled awkwardly. 

“Aren’t you a bit young to be an Interpol Agent?” A tall suited man asked her 

“Perhaps. But I am. I have a shiny badge, would you like to inspect it?” She asked and her British accent was very noticeable. 

“That won’t be necessary.” The man replied as he undressed his long coat “I am with the DEA, my name is Rafael Barba.” Florence nodded at him.

“I’m Dominick Carisi, the blond woman always pouting is Amanda Rollins, Spanic detective over there is Detective Nick Amaro. And I guess you’ve met The captain and Elliot.” A tall blond man in a suit said with a heavy New York accent. He looked nice and Florence smiled at all of them. She got a mug and poured coffee in it, as she did the rest of the detectives sat down, leaving only herself and the Attorney standing. 

“Let’s go over what we know,” Olivia said. 

Florence felt deep anxiety, she hadn’t been informed how her friend had died. Only who was suspected to have committed the murder, and if the speculation were right, then Catheryn had suffered a painful death. 

“We know, the dates of all the murders. The first one was on January first 2016, from then on, he murdered every other month on the first.” The attorney said as a slide with the murderer's timeline appeared on the blank whiteboard that sat in the conference room. 

“However, he stopped killing on the first of May of 2017, the 9th murder. Why did he kill again the other day?” The Carisi detective asked

“Because Catheryn got really close to finding out who he is.” Florence interrupted, she nibbled on her pen as she stared at the timeline, “The killer obviously killed her out of impulse. Before her, the murders where committed exactly the same day, every other month, and in the same way.” She gets up and opens on of her files and shows them, “I’ve been looking for everything in these murders that can show us what kind of a person he is, and how he chose his victims.” Olivia helped her open the other files as she continued explaining. “ So, we know, that from the first of January 2016 to the first of May 2017 he killed 10 girls. Here, we notice a Pattern. Every two months, on the first day of the month he killed. Then, I noticed two other patterns.” She stopped a bit to drink a bit of her coffee. 

Carisi analysed the new Interpol Agent, she had long Natural curled red hair, 75% of her face was covered in freckles, and her eyes where different colours. She was undoubtedly very beautiful. Her British accent amused him, and he listened attentively as she presented her evidence and ideas.

“The first, being, that the first killing started with a 14-year-old girl, the second a 16-year-old, the third 18 years old, and so on. Every kill is two years older than the previous one, this means the next victim should have been 32 years old. However, he killed Catheryn. He broke the pattern.” The red-haired girl sat down as the detectives read the files and nodded,

“Catheryn must’ve really pissed him off. He broke the pattern just to send a message.” Detective Elliot said with crossed arms,

“There’s more.” Florence said pulling out another file and handing it to Detective Elliot, “He killed the first two in Paris. The next two in Berlin. The other two in London, and then Madelyn Walker here, in New York, in 2017. And now Catheryn, on March 2018, not to mention, the fact that Catheryn was killed on the 8th, not the first.”

“So, he travels a lot. How does that help?” Asked the blond woman

“Doesn’t help, at least not now. But don’t you think it's strange? The first 8 are murdered in European Capitals, and then suddenly New York? Why not Washington?” Florence said as she passed her hand thru her hair frustrated. 

“Maybe it's not about Capitals, maybe its something in his past. At least we know he stayed this whole time in New York. And I have a feeling he won’t be going anywhere soon. He's proud of his killings, and he thinks he’s smarter than the Police.” Carisi said. 

Florence looked at him and widened his eyes, “That’s it! He’s doing this as a show. His personal Macabre Show. What. Fucking sicko!” 

Olivia stood up and rubbed her eyes,

“Okay, we have a lot to go thru, but we’ll do it tomorrow. You are all dismissed. I want you here tomorrow at 8 am sharp.” Everyone got up and started leaving, Florence got her bag and waited for the Elevator,


	3. A Cup of American Coffee

“Hey! British Red Head!” Carisi said as he approached her at the elevator and got in with her. “Welcome to New York. Sorry, it's on such a sad occasion. Where are you staying?” He asked as he pressed the 1st floor. 

“I’m staying at the Marriot since the company is paying, I chose well.” She replied jokingly 

“Want a ride? I’m cheaper than a cab!” He said as the elevator door opened and they got out. Florence smiled but denied his offer, she liked walking alone, and there was plenty she had to think about. 

Florence got to her Hotel room, got naked and took a long hot shower. The hot water ran through her curly hair. She felt a wave of sadness engulf her as she thought of Catheryn. She felt as if her heart had been crushed into nothing. She missed her best friend. 

-“Hey, Shouldn’t we clean the apartment?” Asked Catheryn as she liked her friend, they laid together on the couch staring at the packed up boxes. Florence got up and stretched herself,

“Maybe we should order in, and then once we have the energy we’ll clean this up.” 

“No! We need to clean this, I know you Florence! You eat, and then you convince me we should have a nap. And then, suddenly were 40 and the apartment is still in boxes.” Florence looked at her with her lips shut into a thin line, fighting not to let out a giggle as her friend acted crazy. She jumped on her friend and hugged her laughing,

“At least we're still together in 40 years!” 

“Always!”-

Florence felt tears stinging the back of her eyes, and as they fell she whispered to herself “Not anymore”. She missed her friend dearly, it had only been 3 months since they had been separated, Catheryn in New York and herself in Dayrut, Egypt. Both of them worked for Interpol, and both specialised in Special Victims crimes. 

Florence punched the shower wall as she recalled the last time they talked on the phone. A petty fight had been the last interaction between them. And she couldn’t help but feel guilty and enraged. Her friend had died without knowing she loved her to death. 

The Hotel bed felt like a sea of sheets against her small body, she took her phone and called her mother to let her know she was okay and settled. Once she hung up the phone she charged her phone and went to sleep.

March 17th, 2018

Florence had been in New York for 5 days, everything had been cared of in regards to her re-location. She was accompanied by Olivia to go get her New gun. She wore her badge casually as a necklace and walked silently.

“You don’t talk much do you?” Olivia asked Florence smirked

“Usually I don’t shut up. At least that's what I’ve been told.” Olivia chuckled as they arrived and showed her badge to the doorman. They entered and They assigned Florence her Glock 22, she showed her permit and the guns serial number was registered along with her badge number and the Interpol authorisation. She put it in its leather pocket attached to her black jeans.

“Captain, want to grab a cup of coffee?” She asked as she signed the final forms needed for her to leave wit a fully loaded gun. 

“Sounds good. I know a place near the Precinct.” She replied with a soft smile. 

They sat outside with their coffees and Florence lit up a cigarette. That sat in silence until Florence got the courage to break it. 

“Did she suffer?” She asked as she inhaled the sour smoke,

“You didn’t read the report?” Olivia asked as she sipped her warm coffee, it was March, so New York was still rather cold. 

“No. Couldn’t bring myself to. I’ve studied his killing method, and if he did anything slightly familiar to her I don’t think I could take it.” She replied honestly. She had seen her fair of sinister and brutal murders, but Catheryn being the victim made her sick.

“I won’t lie to you Florence. You’ll have to read the file, sooner or later. I’m sorry you have to go through this. I have to say (she chuckles) you’re superiors are cold-hearted people. Sending you here to replace her….” Florence interrupted the Captain and she inhaled some more smoke,

“I volunteered. I had to pull some favours to be her replacement. They didn’t want me here.” Olivia raises her eyebrows,

“Why? This might destroy you. Taking care of all this and having to deal with her memory, and worst, with her murder.” 

“I promised her, and her family I would never fail her, in life or death. I’m just keeping my promise.” She replied and shrugged her shoulders,

“Well, you’re filled with courage. I’ve read your file. At 22 you had a two Masters and enlisted in the British army. At 24 you were recruited by Interpol and specialised on Special Victims crimes. You’ve been all around the world to help victims. Your file says that before Egypt you were in Thailand, where you were captured and let go only two weeks later. And only 3 months later you were back at work. (she sighs) I need to ask you this, are you truly okay? After all this?”

“I’m fine. I knew what I was signing up for. I’ve been cleared by 2 psychiatrists. Don’t worry!” She smiled warmly as she put out the cigarette she had finished.

They spoke for another half hour, Olivia had the chance to get to know a bit better the new member of their team. She was the youngest among them, but one of the most experienced.

__________________

The station was as full as the other days. Florence arrived and sat on her new desk, that used to be Catheryn’s. A picture of the two stood in front of her. Carisi was at the desk in front of her, Amanda to her right, Amaro sat infant of Amanda, and Elliot had a desk with a perfect view of all of them, next to Fin. 

“So, are you all gunned up?” Carisi asked as she opened her laptop. She smiled and pulled out her gun and waved it jokingly,

“Yes, Detective Carisi! America is fun. This was fast!” She joked in her fake American accent. The blond detective stared at her with a smirk,

“Your American accent is shit.” 

“I know, I’ll practice more Dominick.” She winked at him jokingly. As they joked with each other Elliot came in with a bulk of files in his hand and called them out for attention.

“Okay, I need Fin to go talk to one his informants, to see if anyone knows about the drugs found in the victim's tox screens. It’s not a common drug and we need to find the supplier, so we find the Bastard. Meanwhile, I need Amanda and Amaro to go talk to the neighbours again, to see if any of them remembers anything else. And Florence.. (he paused and let out a long a sigh) I need you to go identify the body. She’s been fully analysed and is ready to be sent to the funeral home. But we need a confirmation from a family or friend. I’m sorry to ask this of you.” 

A lump formed in her throat and her stomach fell what felt like hundreds of floors. 

“Su…sure.” She replied quietly,

“I’ll go with her. I don’t think she needs to go through that alone.” Carisi spoke as he got up and got his jacket and her’s. 


	4. Tears and Tea

March 17th, 2018 (Morgue)

It felt like weeks until they arrived at the morgue. Florence felt a deep knot in her stomach, and all the memories she had lived with friend passed through her mind. She tried to push them away as they entered the room where the coroner waited for them. 

Carisi looked at his newest colleague, she was noticeably nervous. He admired her face attentively, it was round and filled with freckles, her eyebrows were as red as her hair, and the eyes behind the glasses where big and round, and their colours were something Carisi had never seen, yet they were mesmerising to him.

“Are you ready?” The coroner asked on the other side of the glass that separated them from where Catheryn’s body laid motionless. 

She nodded slowly and closed her hands into fists as strongly as she could, trying to control her anxiety. 

The white blanket was lifted from her friend's body, she laid there, white as snow, she seemed almost peaceful. Her long blond hair highlighted her soft features. As Florence stared at her dead friend she noticed all the marks she had on her body, they all suggested torture. She felt the contents of her stomach fighting to come out as she imagined the pain and torture her friend had to endure. She ran towards the closest bathroom, as she ran in she threw up. Tears fell from her eyes like a waterfall, everything her friend had gone thru made her want to scream of desperation. How could she have allowed this to happen? Catheryn had always been the one worrying about her, why didn’t she ever worry about her friend? 

A knock interrupted her line of thought, and someone entered the bathroom, she sat on the floor grabbing her head and shaking it,

“Florence, hey, it's okay. You’re not alone…” Carisi said calmly, as he got closer to the crying young woman, he could see her pain, her guilt, and how lonely she felt. He kneeled next to her and put a hand on her small arched back. “It’s okay…”

“NO! It’s NOT okay! I failed her miserably!!! I was her friend, and I did nothing, I just let her… die…” her eyes were wide open as she realised it had been the first time she admitted to herself Catheryn was truly dead, she wasn’t coming back… She went frigid as she let herself understand what was happening, she had been on autopilot ever since they had called her telling her the news.

_______

Carisi had calmed Florence down, she had signed the forms to transfer Catheryn’s body to London for her funeral. He took the red-haired girl to a coffee shop near the precinct so she’d eat something and calm herself down. 

Florence walked quietly next to her new colleague, she felt embarrassed she had broken down, she wasn’t used to letting her emotions take over, she had years of emotion training, however, it didn’t help much, she had lost it being her friend. In her head it made no sense, during her many field missions, she had seen crime scenes and body’s in much worse states, some of them, scenes not even the Devil himself would be able to stomach, but she had, always. But earlier she felt like a child, desperate and alone, unable to control her emotions. 

They arrived and she sat down at one of the tables, she chose to sit outside, this way she could smoke and calm herself, while Carisi went to grab them some tea, coffee was not a good idea, at least not that day.

“Here you go!” The detective said while placing a mug with tea on the table and waking her from her thoughts, she looked at him, she stared at him for the first time, he was tall, slim, with bright blue eyes, he smiled sweetly at her and she looked back at her tea. 

“I’m sorry you had to witness that fiasco.” She said while taking a sip from her hot tea, the man in front of her chuckles, she looks at him confused,

“Why are you apologising? You’re in mourning, it's normal.” He winks at her, she smiles and looks up, barely any blue present, only tall skyscrapers, she missed the big fields she and Catheryn used to run on when they were children,

“I had never had an episode of those, and I’ve seen my fair share of dead people.” She says coldly, judging herself for being weak, as she says this, the detective sighs and pulls out a photograph from his wallet and hands it to her, it was a blond girl with blue eyes, almost reminded her of Catheryn, the girl in the photo had a big smile. Florence looked at Carisi, confusion on her face, 

“That was one of my baby sisters, she died a few years ago. Carcrash.” He said, sadness filled his eyes, turning them grey, she felt the urge to touch his hand and hold it tight, however, she didn’t, 

“I’m so Sorry Dominick…” He chuckled sadly,

“I don’t understand why people say they’re sorry, it wasn’t their fault. Honestly, it wasn’t anybody’s fault, the floor was slippery and the car just lost control. (he sighs) However, I showed this to you, because, when she died, I broke down too. I cried like a baby, I screamed, I punched my car, I don’t think there’s anything I didn’t do.” He touched her hand lightly and smiled at her warmly, “Believe me, I know what you’re feeling. And its kay to let it out sometimes!”

Florence smiled and gave him back his photograph, 

“She was beautiful!”

“She was! You have no idea the number of guys I had to threat over the years!” He laughed filled with nostalgia, they both laughed. 

_________

20th March 2018

Three days since her “incident” had passed. Olivia had assigned her and Carisi to go back to the crime scene, it was 5 am, so Florence decided to go for a run before getting ready for work, she had Central Park right next to the hotel, so she put on some running gear and left.

The cold mourning air felt almost like a slap on her face, she could see her exhales leaving her mouth and mix with the cold outside air. 

As she ran her phone rang, she answered it without checking who it was, not interrupting her morning run, 

“Mornin sweety!” An Irish accent rang on the other side, she smiled and stopped running,

“Good Morning Ma’!”

“How is my wee’ baby?”

“I’m good, how are you? Has Dad been taking his medication?”

“We’re good! Your Father has been workin, and your wee brother has been going to classes. I just wanted to know how you are! We all miss Cath, deary!” Florence started walking back to the hotel and felt sadness fill her heart again as she remembered her deceased friend. “Are ya’ comin to the funeral?” Her mother asked between the silence.

“No Ma’. I can’t. I’ve said my goodbye. Now I have to Cath the Bastard.”

“Language young woman! (she sighed) I understand Deary, I’ll put a wee rose for ya’!” A smile grew on her face, she knew her mother couldn’t witness it, but she knew her daughter felt reassured. They spoke her whole way back to the Hotel. Once she arrived, they said their goodbyes and Florence stepped into the shower, it was 7:30 am, once was ready. 

Carisi picked her up at the Hotel entrance.


	5. Bloody prints and Clean Gloves

Florence entered the car and felt his cologne, it was a smell she had started associating with a friend. He gave her a cup of coffee and told her to put her seat belt on. 

“Good Morning Detective Carisi!” She smiled as she opened the window to light her morning cigarette. Carisi saw her thru the side of his eyes, she had her hair loose, and her sweet perfume invaded his car. The last few days they had been partnered up by Olivia, with he didn’t mind, Florence was good company. They got along well, and she had been in a better mood each day, which made him happy.

“Good morning Agent Williams! How was your night at the famous Marriot Hotel? Awful I bet!” He joked, she inhaled some of her smoke and chuckled,

“Definitely, those white silk bedsheets, are so trash!” His lips turned into a half-smile as she laughed, her laugh was sweet, and it made him smile.

They arrived at Catherine old apartment, the entrance was still full of Police tape, they entered and there was a policeman inside waiting for them,

“Good morning Detectives!”

“Good Morning” she replied

“What do you have for us?” Carisi asked as he took the Police’s file, “No Fingerprints, no hairs, no fibres, and no liquids…again…” he read out loud, the walls still had Catheryn’s dried blood on them, Florence examined it, getting closer to the frase that had been written on it,

“Carisi! Did they take prints from the writings on the wall?” He verified the file and raised his eyebrows, 

“No! Do you think we can get any?” 

“We can get at least a partial unless he wore gloves.” Carisi went and tried to collect some prints from the writings, but soon, it became clear the perp had used gloves. Florence got pissed at the fact that the Bastard had thought of everything. She walked into the kitchen, it was spotless, exactly how Catheryn had always kept her house. Florence checked if the windows were locked, and as she pushed one of them, it opened.

“Carisi!I think I got something!” Her partner ran to her,

“What?” 

“The window! It's not locked! Catheryn was trained in the army with me, we were taught to ALWAYS lock our windows and doors! And I am certain she did it every day!” The young woman said excited, almost sure the Murderer had made a mistake.

“But, there’s no forced entry, how did he get in?”

“There’s a way to pick these locks, but to do that, even if he wore gloves he had to take them off, it's impossible to do it with gloves, it removes your sensibility. There HAS to be a print or partial here!” Her partner raised his right eyebrow and sighed,

“Well, we don’t lose anything if we try to get one!” She smiled and let him gather the print as she inspected the rest of the apartment. She opened cabinet doors, drawers, and finally the trash, inside it, a pair of brown leather gloves. She gasps, opening an evidence bag she shouts calling Carisi, she closes the evidence bag with the gloves and smiles victorious at him,

“Now we’ve got the fuck face!” He chuckled and winked at her as he grabbed the bag from her hand and gave it to the other Policeman. 

The Detective’s phone rang, it was Olivia, who had called them both to another case, a 16-year-old girl had been found raped, they were sent to the hospital to interview her once she woke up.

Carisi drove as Florence wrote on her notebook everything she saw and found at Catherine apartment. They arrived and were greeted by a doctor,

“Hey, Carisi! Your victim is finishing her rape kit now. 10 more minutes and you can go interview her.” The doctor noticed the red-haired young woman and smiled at her extending his right hand. “I’m Doctor Lopez, Nice to meet you, Detective!”, Florence shook his hand, and without smiling her British accent was heard,

“Hi, I’m Florence Williams.” A nurse interrupts them and informs them that the girl is ready, Carisi straightens his jacket,

“Let’s go then.” 

“Sorry Detective, but the girl only wants to speak to a female detective..” The nurse said looking at Florence and smiling sweetly, She nodded at the nurse and at Carisi. The detective stayed outside the hospital room as her partner entered. 

Florence entered the room quietly and smile towards the small girl, who laid in the hospital bed, her right eye turning black, 

“Hello, I’m Agent Florence, with Interpol. I’m here help catch the man who hurt you.” The girl stared at her frightened and squeezed her mother's hand tightly,

“I….I’m Amelia.” 

“Nice to meet you, Amelia! How old are you dear?” 

“I turned 16 last week. Why are you British?” The girl asked, deflecting from the detective's questions.

“Because I lived all my life in London. So, tell me, do you remember anything from before the incident?”

“No…. I mean… I do. But I can’t tell you…” tears fell down the girls' eyes, Florence grabbed her free hand and stroked it lightly,

“Sweety, don’t you worry about that disgusting man. He can’t hurt you anymore! I’ll protect you, I promise!” The young Agent smiled reassuringly at the girl who sighed deeply and told her about the attack, the man had attacked her from behind, she never saw it coming. The interview ended and Florence gave them her phone number, for the girl to call, in case she needed anything. 

The two Detectives left the Hospital and headed to the precinct where their colleagues waited for them for lunch. 

_______________

March 22nd, 2018

The fingerprints they got from Catheryn’s home hadn’t matched with anyone in CODIS. Florence and Carisi stood in front of the precinct as the Young woman finished her morning cigarette with her coffee on her other hand. 

“You don’t have to wait out here in the cold with me just because I choose to kill myself!” She joked winking at her new partner,

“I’m what you may call a Gentleman, I've heard that in Britain they have all perished!” He joked back as he smiled back at her. 

They entered and went up to their floor, as they arrived Olivia and the rest of the team was waiting for them,

“Morning! I need you to go make an arrest!” She said looking at them

“An arrest? This early?” Florence asked raising her right eyebrow,

“Yes, Amelia’s attacker didn’t use a condom, and we matched his semen. We have his address, you can go arrest him. And since you two arrived late, it’s you’re arrest.” With this Florence smiled maliciously, 

“Am I allowed to arrest him? I work for Interpol after all…”

“You may. Since you are working with us, the NYPD registered you as a foreign Detective. You work with us, following International and Interpol’s law. Not American law.”

Florence chuckled and grabbed the paper Olivia had with the perp’s address, picked the car keys, 

“I’m driving this time.” She winked at Carisi, they left, and Florence drove as fast as she could thru the New York streets. They arrived at a suburban neighbourhood, it had a clear view to Brooklyn, the perp’s house was number 28.

Florence got out of the car, opened her jacket so her badge and to her gun were visible, on the right side of there black jeans. 

“I’ll make the arrest, is that okay?” She asked her partner, he nodded in approval. Carisi knocked on the door, “NYPD, open the Door”, a few seconds later a 40-year-old man opened the door, he was well-groomed,

“Can I help you?” He asked annoyed,

“NYPD, Mr.Adams we need to ask you a few questions….” Florence said as she showed him her badge,

“I won’t answer to a Snout’s!” He spat at her and his face turned to disgust

Carisi wasn’t able to process what the man had said, as the man attempted to close his door. Florence kicked open the door and punched the man right on the nose, with such force it released drops of bright red blood.

“What the fuck did you call me? You Catholic piece of shit?” her hand was stained with the man's blood, 

“You can’t do this! This is Police brutality you whore!” she prepared herself to deliver another blow as she felt someone grab her shoulder from behind and felt her Partners cologne and his voice whispered in her ear,

“Florence, that’s enough….” 

“Fine…” she said. She grabbed the man by his collar and forced him to sit on his couch as the two detectives sat in front of him.

“Where were you on the night of the 19th?” Florence spat at him

“None of your Godamn business Snout!” He replied wiping the blood off his nose. Carisi intervened and slapped the man lightly and got his face close to the perps,

“Hey! Asshole, my partner has made it clear she doesn’t like you calling her that. So, if you want me to prevent her from kicking your ass, you better behave!” Florence watched as Carisi confronted the perp head first, as she noticed just how handsome his features were, his blue shirt tight around his arms, his grey vest was as tight, but around his torso. Florence smirked at the fact that his action made her notice that Dominick Carisi might just be extremely attractive. 

She snapped out of it and approached them smiling at the perp,

“You see, the funny part of all this is, I don’t work for the NYPD, I’m an Agent from Interpol, so, if you don’t want to be deported back to your shithole in Ireland, You better start cooperating with us. So,..” She straightened up her long black jacket “ WHERE the fuck were you on the night of the 19th?”

“I want a fucking lawyer!” He spat at her,

“Fine!” She said smiling. He was pulled up from the couch by his collar, she pushed him against the wall and started cuffing him as Carisi read him his rights. He was shoved into their police car, and Florence shut the door leaving him inside.

“I’ll take all responsibility for the police brutality.” She said as she took out a cigarette and lit it, her partner chuckled,

“Well, since you operate under International law, and not American law… You have diplomatic immunity. You can do almost anything you want.” He winked at her as he got closer to her, “But let’s not make a habit of this, yes Agent Williams?” Carisi stood close to her, looking her in the eyes with a rascal smirk, his thumb found her freckled cheek, and wiped a drop of the perp’s blood, as he winked at her. She felt what she thought were butterflies in her stomach. 

“Understood Detective Dominick..” She smiled at him as her hand landed on his chest and she pushed him lightly away. Which this she got in the car.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Hi! I hope you are liking the story! I am sorry if I make mistakes, English isn't my main language... If you have any suggestions, I am opened to hear about them!


	6. Unexpected Events

March 22nd, Afternoon

(In the interrogation room)

Elliot and Olivia interrogated the perp and his lawyer, as Carisi, Barba and Florence watched from the outside. 

“Is it true you punched him in the face Florence?” Barba asked with a sigh of annoyance. 

“Yeah, I did.” She replied not looking at him

“Why the hell? Didn’t Interpol give you basic training?” 

“They did.” She replied annoyed, “Rafael, don’t forget, I’m here as an Interpol Agent, not one of your detectives, you have NO jurisdiction over me.” She turned to him, her eyebrows arched, “And don’t you DARE insult my training, or my skills as an Agent. I’ve been places you’ve never even dreamed of! I’ve been trained as a detective, as a policewoman, and as a soldier. You have no idea who you’re talking to Counsellor…” there was an awkward silence and Florence left. 

“Well… She’s intense.” Barba said with a sigh looking at Carisi, he chuckled and shrugged his shoulders,

“I have no complaints so far. I like her! She’s ballsy.” 

“Why did she punch this man tho? He doesn’t seem to be a big threat to either of you.”

“Well, he called her a weird name, something like “Snout”, and she punched him.” The detective said, still not knowing what the insult even meant, Barba nodded, picked up his stuff,

“I’m leaving, and keep her out of trouble I’ll have to clean up Carisi!” And left.

The Detective went to his desk, his partner sat across from him, writing on her laptop, her hair was up into a high ponytail, her glasses slid slowly down her small nose as she typed furiously. Carisi noticed how her white turtle neck embraced her upper body tightly showing off her silhouette. As she got up to grab a mug of coffee he followed her with his gaze, her black skinny jeans wrapped around her long, skinny legs. She was a short woman, but her heeled black boots gave her enough height for her forehead land on his chest. She loosened her curly hair, allowing it to form a red halo around her face and upper back. Florence truly looked young, she was 6 years younger than him, but looked even younger, with gave him the urge to protect her, even though she clearly didn’t need his protection. She was undoubtedly beautiful, and he enjoyed her very much. 

She handed him a mug with warm coffee as he snapped out of his thoughts, and smiled at her with a nod,

“Thanks, Agent Williams.” She chuckled and sat down at her desk, he stared at her a question swimming among his thoughts,

“What do you want to ask Dominick?” She asked without looking at him, concentrated on her laptop,

“Well, I’m confused, what does “Snout” mean? I’ve never heard it.” Florence looked at him thru the top of her glasses and she made a half-smile,

“Snout is an insult used a lot in Ireland, its an offensive term used to refer to protestants of British descent living who live or lived in Ireland, He basically called me a stray, it’s an insult filled with hate, and back home it's really degrading to be called “snout.” She explained, “I wouldn’t expect you to know the word, it's not a term one usually hears among a civilised conversation.” Florence winks at her partner. 

March 29th, 2018

A week had passed, and there were no leads on The Bedroom Murderer case, the media had published a few articles, which just helped the perp know that they had nothing on him. Florence had missed her friends funeral, however, her mother had left some roses on the grave. She hadn’t been able to fly home to be present, nor had she tried. The thought of witnessing Catheryn’s Mother washed in tears burying her only daughter felt like a punch to the stomach.

She stood silently, lost in her thoughts while her cigarette smoked itself in front of the precinct, her long black jacket made her red hair stand out in between the grey landscape around her. Suddenly she felt a heavy arm rest on top of her shoulders and she sensed Carisi’s cologne. A smile formed on her face and she looked up to see him smile back at her.

“Good Morning Florence!” He laid a soft kiss on her forehead, they had become rather close ever since he had witnessed her breakdown. They worked well together and as friends, they were extremely compatible. 

“Good Morning Dominick, how’s your morning going?” She asked while stepping on her cigarette butt. He stretched his arms and yawned, she noticed how tight his grey vest was, allowing her to notice his large chest. As he stretched she punched his stomach jokingly, causing him to choke on air and curve himself. “Come on Detective, there’s plenty to be done!” 

As they entered Florence’s phone rang, it was her Boss, she told Carisi to go on. She headed back outside,

“Hello.” she said on the phone,

“Mornin’ Florence. How are ye’ settling in the big apple?” He laughed on the other end of the call,

“I’m doing okay, there’s still no more information on Catherine murder.”

“That’s too bad… She will be missed. (he sighs) However, I called to talk about something a wee bit happier. Actually it’s two things.” Florence light another cigarette “The paperwork for your apartment has been taken care of! Tomorrow you can go look for one! You have a budget, naturally, we’re not rich (he laughed at his own joke). And, the other, is that I’m visiting you in New York!” Florence choked on her cigarette with the news.

“You are? That’s great, when?” 

“Well, ye’ see, it’s going to be the 87th Interpol International General Assembly, and the event, the conference’s are in New York. And so is the big ball. I do hope you will be attending. I confirmed your presence, and I also took the liberty to invite your new SVU friends.” Florence went silent with so many news, she thanked him for inviting her new colleagues, and herself. She hung up and whispered “Shit! Fuck! Argh, for fuck sake!!!” The last thing she needed was to have to deal with her boss, and least of all at a ball…

__________ 

March 29th in the afternoon

Olivia had called Florence to her office where Barba waited for them, the two women entered and Florence sat, staring at Barba,

“Yes?” She asked coldly

“This department was invited for the annual Interpol Ball, which coincidentally is here in NY this year. Have you heard?” Florence rolls her eyes in annoyance being reminded of it, “I wanted to thank you in behalf of the department.” He finished. She felt her eyes widen and her brows rise in surprise,

“Thank? Why? It’s shit, such a boring event!” Olivia chuckled as if she already knew Florence would react that way.

“Barba and I think this is a great way to get on the Mayor’s good side, he is one of the guests, and if we all go, and he likes us, you included, our life here could get a lot easier, especially in court,” Olivia explained, Florence sighed and nodded annoyed,

“Okay, Fine! I’ll go, with a smile.” Barba nodded in agreement, and her Captain mouthed “Thank You” as Florence left the office. She sat back down as she ran her hands thru her hair in annoyance and groaned. Her e-mail beeped, her boss had sent both the papers for the apartment and the invite for the ball. “Miss Florence Williams, you have been formally invited to the annual International General Assembly gala, we hope to see you on the 1st of May at 20:00 pm at the New York Public Library.” She sighed and whispered to herself, “Holy shit, they actually booked the Public Library… How much money do they have?”


	7. She Smiled at Death

April 5th, 2018 

Florence stared thru the tall window at the busy streets of New York, people filled the streets going about their day, the city had a beautiful colour to it. 

“What do you think?” Carisi asked standing behind her leaned against the wall of windows that surrounded the apartment, Florence looked up at the ceiling, it’s height overpowering, half the walls were red bricks against cement, it gave the apartment a rustic look she liked, she shrugged, 

“I guess I like it, It’s better than any of the other dumps we saw. And this one is high up enough to not attract any cockroaches.” She joked, 

“It can still attract rats! But, its 5 minutes from the precinct! You can sleep in!” He says winking at her, she smiles back as she enters the kitchen, it had a long white island, however, the kitchen was small, it felt homely 

“I don’t even know why I want a kitchen (she laughs) I don’t know how to cook to save my life.” She smiles at him, “Embarrassing right?” He chuckles and raises his eyebrows,

“You serious?” She nods, “Don't worry, I’ll teach you to cook! I’m an amazing cook!” He bragged as he got closer to her, she smiled as she leaned against the wall and closed eyes of exhaustion, she hadn’t slept in 3 days,

“I’ll hold you to that promise Dominick Carisi!” 

“I know you will! But for now, you need to decide on an apartment!” His long finger reached her forehead and pressed it softly, “You need an apartment Agent Williams!” His finger traced down to her nose, thru her lips and grabbed her chin sweetly, she smiled and opened her eyes, they met his. 

“Fine, I’ll take this one, I really like it.” He nodded in approval and drew himself away from her as she texted the realtor. He stared thru the window as he heard her footsteps. A strange feeling caught hold of him, as a knot formed in his throat, the feeling that at any given moment she might slip thru his fingers, and he’d lose her… 

Her voice sounded as she called him. They got in the car, in the direction of the precinct. As they drove by the grand central station Florence realised she had forgotten her badge at the Hotel, “SHIT!”, her partner looked in her direction, “What?”, she sighed and knocked her head against the seat annoyed,

“I forgot my fucking badge at the hotel…” he laughed amused, 

“Typical… We can make a detour, it’s no problem.” She sighed annoyed, lately, her head had been a mess, the day before she had left her room card at the precinct. Carisi had to go pick it up for her. They drove in silence to the Hotel. As they got closer Florence inhaled loudly, 

“Dominick, can I ask you one more favour?” 

“Always.” She smiled at his response, it almost sounded like Catheryn,

“Could you go to the reception and ask for a second key of my room?” he parked the car next to the entrance and looked at her with his right eyebrow arched,

“What for?” 

“To leave in your car, at least until I move to the apartment. In case I forget my card again.” Carisi laughed clearly amused with the situation and agreed. They left the car and Florence head up to her room. As she entered her room she saw her badge laying on the bed’s feet, “Of course!” she mouthed to herself as she rolled her eyes in annoyance. Her fingertips touched the badge’s cold surface as she felt something cold shove itself against the right side of her forehead,

“Shhhh, quiet honey…” a man’s voice said as she felt pressure against her head, suddenly she felt impact against her nose, a few seconds and it released bright red blood, she had been punched.

Florence heard him the gun unlocking as it pressed itself against her temple, she raised both her hands slowly, lifted her head and stood perfectly straight, blood dripping furiously from her nose.

“You don’t want to do this…. ” the man interrupted her harshly, and pushed the gun harder against her head,

“I know who you are sweety! (she feels his breath getting nearer) I know what you smell like… (his free hand falls on her shoulder) I know how you look… (his hand slides softly to her chest) And now, I’ll know what you feel like….” The man chuckles and Florence can feel his bad breath, no trace of emotions on her face,

“I was going to say, that you don’t want to do this, BECAUSE, I’ll make you pay for dry-cleaning the blood off my clothes Asshole!” She spat at him with a bloody smile, with this the man Slapped her brutally, her back hit the floor, laid on the floor she let out a laugh. She wiped the blood off her face with her right arm as the man pointed the unlocked gun to her head.

“What do you want?”Florence asks with a cold smile on her face, “Kill me? Go ahead! I’ll haunt you from the other side!” Her laugh loud against the room’s silence

“I’ll rot in hell with you sweety, you’ll make it a lot hotter” He licks his under lip as he presses the gun to her head, making it ache, she attempts to think of a way to escape. She couldn’t scream or he would blow her brains out, nor could she run, or attack him. She closed her eyes and readied herself to be blown into small pieces.

Suddenly a familiar voice sounds, 

“Put your gun down, or, so help me god, I will blow your rotten brains out!” Carisi’s enraged voice sounded, the Man looked at the detective and a malicious smile emerged on his face, 

“YOU PULL THAT TRIGGER AND I WILL KILL YOU!” The detective yells as he pressed his unlocked gun against the man’s head as hard as he could.

With the commotion Florence kicked the perp’s knee as hard as she could, he fell and fired a shot in the air and collapsed. She looked at Carisi who had his gun pointed at the man, 

“I should shoot you! It would be one less asshole walking around!” He spat at the man, Florence got up slowly as she looked at her partner, his eyes were filled with both rage and fear, a look she knew by heart. He had sweat dripping from his forehead, she approached him, and laid a hand softly on his, which trembled as they held up the gun. She locked her eyes with his and laid her free hand on his cheek calmly,

“Dominick, that’s enough… I’m okay! Let me cuff him.” She smiled sweetly and caressed his cold face. He looked at her and pressed his forehead against hers feeling her warmth. After a few seconds, he nodded and took a step back with his gun still pointed at the man. Florence cuffed him.

__________

April 5th, 2018

After the Incident

Amanda and Amaro had met them at the hotel with an ambulance and a few more cops. The other cops took the man to the precinct to be interrogated by Fun and Elliot who were ready for him.

Florence sat on the bed’s foot and stared at her bloody hands, her white skin contrasted against the red dried blood. Some drops mixed with her freckles. She closed her eyes for a split second as her mind was flooded emotions. As she opened her eyes she saw Carisi standing in front of her, silent, but his breathing heavy. She locked her eyes with his, standing up a few inches from him as her breathing calmed. His strong arms embraced her tightly as he buried his face on her neck. She smiled and embraced him back as she felt his heartbeat. 

“Thank you. You saved my life…” she whispered as they embraced. 

A loud cough came from the door, both of them looked and saw Rollins and Amaro with an amused smile on their faces as they looked at them hugging.

“I can see that the worst has passed!” Amaro joked as Florence took a step back and left Carisi’s embrace, Amanda called a medic to take care of Florence, they sat her down on the hall’s couch. Amaro and Carisi stayed in the room with the C.S.I team.

“He beat you up bad!” Amanda said as the full extent of dried blood was visible with Florence’s hair up. 

“Not really, I only took a punch and a slap.” She replied as the medic passed a small flash on her eyes. 

“Good thing you had Carisi here, or you would be broken in half.” She laughed as Florence rolled her eyes in annoyance.

Meanwhile, in the room, Carisi and Amaro watched as the C.S.I team took photos and samples of everything. 

“So, want to talk about what happened?” Amaro asked his colleague curiously,

“There’s not much to talk about, she almost got killed and I lost my shit.” He replied honestly, which made the other detective arch both his eyebrows in surprise,

“That was brutally honest…”

“Nick, I don’t know what’s wrong with me… Seeing her on the floor with the gun pointed at her head made me want to scream and take the bullet for her! (he sighs) and she was so calm, she kept herself so emotionless…. As if she wanted him to fire the gun….”


	8. New Living Situation

“You were overflown with adrenaline, it’s normal, she’s your' ….. Well, I honestly don’t know what you guys are, but it’s obvious you like each other.” Amaro reassured his friend as he patted him on the back, Carisi sighed,

“Dominick? Are you okay?” Florence’s voice asked she had a small cut on her lip and a swollen nose, he turned to face her and smiled,

“I’m fine. What about you Agent Williams?” A small smile formed on her freckled face, she was clearly exhausted, he got closer to her and left a small kiss on her forehead. Amaro left the room, giving them privacy. Florence sighed loudly as she looked at him,

“They’re kicking me out!” She laughed “I’m not allowed in here until they’ve analysed everything. I swear, God hates me!” She jokes as she fixes Carisi’s vest and tie, he stares at her soft freckled cheeks and cups one of them with his right hand, 

“Don’t worry, you can sleep in my car.” He says as serious as he can. They stare at each other in silence for a few seconds until they both burst out laughing.

April 5th, 2018 

8:15 pm

“Are you sure about this?” Florence asked as they stood in front of a green door with a big gold 37 on top of it. 

“Of course! It’s fine!” Carisi replied as he knocked twice, the young woman sighed and grabbed her bag tighter. The door opened and a sweet 70’ish woman smiled at them, she had short blond curly hair and the sweetest cheeks,

“Sonny! Honey! Kiss your mother!” She hugged the tall detective tightly as he kissed her forehead while embracing her. Florence smiled as she saw Carisi’s affection towards his mother.

The blond woman looked towards the red-haired girl with a big smile,

“Hello dear! I’m Sonny’s Mother!” 

“I’m Florence, it’s a pleasure to meet you!” The young woman smiles embarrassed

“Sonny, why don’t you take the Girl’s bag? Honestly, you’re so rude!” Carisi chuckles and grabs Florence’s bag as his mother heads back inside the house, Florence silently mouths “Rude!” Jokingly as he takes her other bag. He raises his eyebrows at her jokingly and nudges her against the doorway as they enter.

The dining table had been set for the three of them, some candles were lit, and there were hundreds of pictures, from what Florence assumed where family photos. Mrs.Carisi handed Florence some washed towels and smiled dearly, 

“Here you go, dear! There’s plenty of hot water! Go have a shower and relax!” The young woman smiled politely, thanked her and Carisi showed her the bathroom.

The person she saw on the mirror barely resembled herself, she was skinny, bruised and exhausted. Her curly hair fell over her shoulders as if it were drapes made of fire, her lips were swollen and bruised. She turned her back to the mirror and took a glance at the reflection, her upper body was filled with scars, some small, some large, but all were hideous she thought to herself. 

As her skin was touched by the warm water she felt a loud sigh escape her lungs, as the water touched her face she let herself relax and her mind flow freely. As she stood in the shower allowing the water to wash away her pain Carisi popped into her mind. She thought of him, his blue eyes, the way he looked at her, the way he kissed her forehead, and suddenly she felt an urge to know how his lips felt against hers. With this thought, she opened her eyes in shock with herself and pushed such images out her mind. “Get yourself together!” She whispered at herself. 

Carisi sat in the living room next to his mother as she folded some clothes, he sighed loudly, it had been a long day. 

“Why do you sigh so much Sonny?” His mother asked with a stern look, “I’ve told you, don’t sigh, talk!” He chuckled as he rubbed his eyes with one hand,

“I’m just tired, it was a long day. That’s all!”

“Sure…” his mother rolled her eyes “I gave birth to that stubborn head of yours, do you think I believe your dim-witted lies?” He stared at her with his eyebrows arched in shock,

“Uau…Harsh Mrs.Carisi!” 

“You’re just like your Father! Never showing your feelings…” she sighs loudly, “You could end up losing someone important to you that way..” She gets up and fixes her dress as she passes her son, “Men…. So complicated!” With that, she slaps him lightly and smiles at his son’s annoyance,

“Cmon’ let’s put dinner on the table, she’s nearly done!”

Florence came out of the bathroom with a simple white t-shirt and some blue ripped jeans, her hair hung around her face, still damp. She smiled at Carisi and offered to help Mrs.Carisi, she accepted she Florence helped setting dinner on the table, as she passed him, Carisi felt the urge to bite his lips as her perfume invaded his senses. 

They sat down and the blond woman served everyone’s plates, they said grace and began eating dinner. 

“So Florence, I don’t know how much my son told you, but the apartment next to this one is free for you to sleep in until your housing situation is taken care off sweetie!” She smiled at the young woman, 

“I hope its not too much trouble, I can easily get another Hotel room!” Florence replies shyly, 

“It’s no trouble!!! However, since its being renovated, the kitchen is per se, out of service…” 

“That’s so no problem, really! I don’t usually cook, so I can just order in!” Florence says reassuring Mrs.Carisi, she smiles at the young woman, 

“Well, I was going to suggest you and Sonny have both breakfast and Dinner here with me, he told me that you usually have lunch at the precinct, so I thought that you could have breakfast here, that way he’d give you a ride to work, and then he’d bring you back and dine with us. What do you say?” Florence loses a response, she was such a nice person she felt bad just consuming her food, water, electricity, without giving anything in return… 

“That’s too much Mrs.Carisi! I couldn’t possibly accep….” She is interrupted by the woman laugh, leaving her confused, 

“Honey! It’s not too much! And if I’m offering, it’s because I’m more than glad to help! And besides, this way I get to see my son every day, twice!” She winked at the young woman who smiled back and nodded, 

“Thank you so much!” The woman held her hand tightly reassuring her she was welcome.

After dinner Mrs.Carisi had told them to go to the living room while she took care of the dinner dishes, Florence insisted to help, in vain. So they both sat on his corner of the couch, Florence’s whole body ached, she leaned her head against the couch’s arm and sighed in relief,

“Do you want to lean your head on my lap?” Carisi asked worried, “You seem extremely uncomfortable!” She looked at him with tired eyes,

“Sure, if you don’t mind.” She laid her head against his lap and brought her legs up, laying her whole body on the couch. A few minutes passed and she fell asleep.


	9. Nightmares and Memories

10th April 2018

Florence had been living at the Carisi Apartment for 5 days. Thanks to it, her and Carisi spent double the time together, which she didn't mind at all, however, it didn’t help when it to came to her mind wandering off about him. She stared at the ceiling as her body laid motionless on her temporary bed. It was 4 am and she couldn’t sleep, her mind was filled with memories, Catheryn, Egypt, Carisi, Thailand….

  * Thailand May 2017 -



A scream echoed the dim-lit garage, pain shot thru her spine as the whip clashed against her bare-skinned back, Sweat drops slid from her forehead to her chin. Her hair was damp with sweat and blood. Her breathing was heavy against the Garage’s silence. She looked up and saw a tall, slender black-haired man smiling with a mouthful of rotten teeth. He hit his foot against her face causing her to hear her nose crack, the pain engulfed her into blackness. 

Florence felt the cold floor against her cheek, she tried to open her eyes, all she saw was blurry walls, and the same slender man as before. Her mind reminded her of her situation and her eyes shot open as she desperately attempted to distance her from the man crawling away, her bones ached alongside every movement.

She heard his footsteps approach her slowly, each second that passed her heart beat faster, her lungs could barely sustain her breathing. 

“Hold her up.” She felt two men pull her up, they stretched her arms, a thought crossed her mind that caused her lips to curl into a half-smile, “Is this what they put Jesus thru?” She thought to herself. 

A rough hand cupped her chin and pulled her face up, as she looked the man in the eye she felt as if she had just met death. Her body started to tremble as the man smiled. He licked her cheek slowly which made her squirm in disgust,

“She’s salty! Must be the tears!” The two men that held her sat the trembling young woman on a wooden chair sitting in the middle of the damp garage they were in. As she sat, one of the men pushed her hair forcing her to face up to the ceiling, she felt her tear run down her cheeks, Desperation filled her mind as she tried to stop the tears from falling. 

She felt something hit her stomach with such force it punched all the air in her lungs out, she felt as if she were suffocating on air….

____ Florence sits on the bed, sweat running down her back, and grasping as much air as she could. She lays her cold hands on her face and sighs into them, it had been a dream filled with memories. She felt her body relax as she convinced her mind, she was safe. The alarm clock marked 7 am, time to get ready and have breakfast.

Meanwhile, Mrs.Carisi and Dominick talked at the kitchen table as they waited for the red-haired girl. He had his morning coffee in a mug and his mother made pancakes at the stove. 

“Has she been adapting here okay?” He asks while checking if the girl was anywhere present, making sure she didn’t hear their conversation.

“Very well, she’s such a sweetheart! She won’t let me do anything after dinner anymore! And yesterday she even watched a movie with me before bed!” Carisi smiled in relief, he knew she had difficulty integrating into new places with people she didn’t know well. “However..” His mother said amidst his thoughts, “She has nightmares, almost every night, tonight I swear I heard her cry… Naturally, I went over to her door to see if she was okay, and she wouldn’t stop mumbling something about, not hurting her anymore, and to just kill her once and for all… The poor child, what did she do before coming here?” Dominick was distracted, thinking about his mother just said, he hadn’t heard the question only when she slapped his shoulder did he came back to reality,

“She was in Thailand and Egypt, helping rape victims from wars and human trafficking, at least that’s what Olivia told us…” as they heard the door open they both looked at it, Florence stood there with a smile, her curly red-hair up in a ponytail, she wore a white baggy shirt and her black high jeans, her badge and gun next to each other around her black belt. 

“Good Morning,” she said with a smile on her face, Carisi stood up as she entered the kitchen and smiled back.

“Did you sleep well, honey?” The older woman asks and pushes a chair for her to sit,

“I slept great! Like a baby!” Carisi frowned in his mind, she looked at her smile and felt his lugs pause, his stomach knot and his heartache. Her mouth smiled, but the eyes behind her glasses looked exhausted. The urge to hold her tight and reassure her was almost overwhelming, the last week they had been spending twice as much time together and he was starting to understand what his mother had told him that day… He had feelings developing for her. That he was certain. But to be able to stop them, he wasn’t as certain…

______

12th April 2018

Florence and Carisi sat in his car on their way back to the precinct, they just had come back from the hospital, a new rape victim, however this time it had been a 6-year-old child, which had caused Florence’s stomach to turn. 

They arrived at the station and Florence stayed behind to grab a cup of water by herself, she felt sick to her stomach, she couldn’t even have a sip of water. Someone approaches her from behind and start’s her.

“Sorry Florence, I didn’t mean to scare you!” It was Olivia, she sighed in relief and smiled at her captain, 

“Hey!”

“I have someone I would like you to meet in my office! Would you come with me?” As confused as Florence was, she agreed and followed Olivia into her office, she saw a mid-height man, with black hair, he was definitely asian and had a soft smile on his face. Florence closed the door behind her.

“Hello, I’m George Huang! Nice to meet you!” Florence smiled politely

“Hello, I’m Florence Williams.” 

“I’ll let you two get acquainted. I’m going to be on the field with Elliot, see you later!” Olivia said as she grabbed her coat and left the office. Florence felt uneasy in that office alone with the Huang guy. 

“I’m going to frank with you because I believe in honesty. I am an FBI Psychoanalyst..." He is interrupted by Florence who is laughing still standing next to the shut door, her arms crossed,

“And you are here to do a psych analysis on me. (she sighs) Now, what I don’t understand, is why. I’ve been to therapy, twice! So, if you’re here, its one out of two opinions, 1, someone asked you too because they think I’m fucking unstable, or, this is about the whole hotel dilemma.” She smirks and laughs a bit before continuing, “BUT, if it where the hotel dilemma, you would have tried to talk to me, 4 days ago! (she tilts her head and squints her eyes looking at him) So, this means, someone asked you to come because they think I’m unstable! Which honestly, is fucking HILLARIOUS, because the only one close enough to me to think that is Carisi. So this means I’ve been stabbed in the back by my partner.” She holds up both her hands, “Go ahead, then, tell me I’m wrong! You can’t! Because I’m fucking right, so, maybe I’m not crazy after all!” She leaves slamming the door, as she passes the main hall she grabs her jacket furious and leaves. 

Carisi sees Florence leave Olivias’ office furious, and follows her outside. As he feels the new your air hit his face he sees her lighting a cigarette, 

“Hey! Florence! What’s wrong???” He asked as he got closer to her,

“Fuck You Carisi! Fuck you and your Shit excuses! Why would you go behind my back like this???”


	10. Anxiety and Confessions

“What are you talking about???” She asked confused as she pierced his soul with her big eyes

“Don’t play innocent! Do you think I'm stupid?” There’s a silence, as he refuses to reply, not letting his gaze leave hers, “Why so quiet?! No excuses to give?!” He remains silent, his face was tense, she could see him clutching his jaw, allowing his jawline to be reinforced, “How dare you? Why would you get a FUCKING psychoanalyst to see me??? What’s wrong with you? Are you afraid I’ll go into a murderous spree? When have I ever inconvenienced you with my fucked up craziness?!” She felt pure anger, she could scream, however, she was causing enough of a scene already. With this she tossed her burned-out cigarette on the ground and fixed her jacket, “I’ll be taking the day off, I’ll leave you mothers house tonight, and I can guarantee you that I will NOT talk to the Huang guy.” She was interrupted by an enraged Carisi, 

“Don’t you fucking get it??? I’m WORRIED about you! I’ve been for a while! This was to help you! Not to piss you off!!! You seem suicidal, and you show signs of PTSD, what the fuck was I supposed to do???” Her eyes open wide and her eyebrows arch as much as they physically can as she scoffs, almost amused,

“Suicidal? What’s fucking wrong with you? And even if I were suicidal, it's my own goddamn fucking problem! Not yours! If I want to shoot my brains out or jump from the fucking Brooklyn bridge, I WILL! You know why? Because it's my life! Not yours!” with this she leaves furious, leaving Carisi alone in front of the precinct, she sighs heavily. He felt frustrated, he wanted to help desperately, but he overstepped. A loud groan escapes his throat as he punches the building's wall, as his hand hits the brick wall he feels his bones ache and spots of bloodstain the wall as he pulls his hand back against his chest.

Meanwhile, Florence caught an uber to the Brooklyn bridge pier and sat at a bench. Closed her eyes allowing her mind to settle, She had been furious at Carisi, not for being worried, but for not talking to her, he could have asked. She thought as she stared at her long freckled fingers, her hands were pale, just like the rest of her skin, however with the cold, her fingers and palms were turning purple. She tucked them into her jacket pockets, she felt something vibrate, it was her phone, she took it out of her pocket and stared at the caller ID, “Dominick”. She hung up. Florence sighed as her head tilted allowing her to face the cloudy sky, she felt a wave of heart-aching sadness take over her, she was alone, nowhere to go, no Home. She missed Catheryn more than she could ever admit to herself. Her life had taken plenty of bad turns, whoever, at the end of the day, she had HER. Now she had no one. Just herself, but what was that wort? “Nothing…” she whispered to herself.

As her mind sinks into a pitch of dark feelings she whispers to herself “Standing alone doesn’t mean I’m alone. It means I’m strong enough to handle things all by myself…” repeatedly. Tears threaten to fall as the image of Catheryn pops to her mind, all the smiled they shared, the moments… It was as if she saw them burn slowly in front of her, unable to stop it. 

Her hands start to tremble as her anxiety starts to grow in her, she holds the, in an attempt to stop them, however, her mind is racing thru time, memories, and it stops racing as Carisi seems to find his way into her mind. She imagines his smile, and feels the soft kisses he leaves on her forehead… Until it’s shattered by the memory of her own face, she slept herself back into anxiety. 

Florence felt chills running thru her spine and body as numbness overpowered her mind and body. In fear of her anxiety she reaches for her small yellow bottle, filled with small white pills, she grabs a few and swallows then dry, in desperation. Maybe this would stop the fear….

____

At the station, Carisi took care of some paperwork as he thought of Florence, how angry she was when she’d left. He ran his big hands thru his blond hair in frustration. Amanda sat beside him, staring with an arched eyebrow in disapproval, 

“You seriously went thru the Girls back?” He groaned in annoyance,

“I know, I was stupid, Elliot had made that clear!” 

“You are more than an idiot! Put yourself in the girl's shoes. She’s in an unknown country, she came to solve the cold-hearted murder of her best friend, she lost one of the most important people in her life. Then, she chooses you, to trust. And, I’ll admit, you were doing a great job! But then, you go behind her back and get her a shrink?!” She scoffs in amusement “Dude, you’re so dumb… I don’t think she’s mad that you think she might need help, because, honestly I think she does, but she’s gonna be mad at the fact that you decided to go around her back to do all this.” Carisi rubs his large fingers against his eyes, Amanda was right. 

“How do I fix this?” 

“Right now? You pray she’ll forgive you. She’s not perfect, far from it. But she’s always been honest. Too honest at times…” He sighs, he’d tried calling her, but she’d hung up 

12th April 2018

22:30 pm

Florence stood in front of the Carisi’s green door with the gold 37, she had the key inside its hole, however, she tried to gain the courage to open it. Even though the courage never came, the door was opened, in front of her stood a tall figure, she knew instantly who it was, she could feel his scent, and it calmed her. She stood quietly, staring at the ground. Her right hand found its way against his large chest as she let it fall weakly on it, allowing her to feel his heartbeat, it was as accelerated as hers. He opened his mouth to say something, however, she beat him to it,

“Do you know what the most important lesson I was taught in training is?” She asked in a weak whisper, he shook his head in silence as his hand grabbed hers on his chest, “I learned how to be strong… Alone.” As the last word is barely hearable Carisi grabs her cheeks softly with his free hand and pushes her face up towards his, as he sees her face, tears fall down her eyes, her eyes looked scared and lonesome. Florence breaks down in a cry and buried her face in his chest, “I can’t do this alone anymore… I’m so tired. I can’t take this anymore.” She cries out in his chest as tears flood her eyes. Carisi holds her tight against his chest, his heart being crushed with every sob, cry, tear she let out. “Sometimes I think I was designed to be alone… But I hate being alone… I’m so tired.” She whispers against Carisi’s broad chest, he caresses her head gently and lays a kiss on her forehead and whispers, “You’re not alone. Not anymore.”, she shakes her head, “I’m exhausted from trying to be stronger than I feel…”, His rams hug her tight as she lets her tears fall freely. 

After a few minutes of dead silence, Carisi sighs as he lifts her teary face and smiles as their eyes meet, 

“Florence, you’re not alone. Not anymore.” He kisses her forehead she lets a smile escape her lips, “Let’s wipe those tears and grab something to eat, it will make you feel better!” Florence nods as she wipes her tears smiling.

____

23:00 pm

Florence sat in a red couched booth as Carisi parked the car, they were at a typical American Dinner. She had been looking forward to this for a while, an all true American dinner, something he had only seen in the movies. The lights flickered slightly, the place was old, the waitress wore the typical dinner outfit she saw in movies, she felt better already. 

Carisi sat in front of her and winked at her as she straightened herself, 

“At ease Soldier!” He joked as he handed her the red and white dinner menu, she grabbed it and started reading what she could have, her stomach rumbled, she hadn’t eaten anything since taking the pills. 

“Dominick, I’m sorry you had witnessed that earlier..” She said with a cold seriousness in her voice as she read the menu, the tall detective took the menu away from her and looked her with a stern look, 

“Stop apologising! I don’t think you're weak for showing your emotion.” She nodded and took back the menu, 

“Just being polite!” She says with a smirk and a wink. 

They ordered, and as they waited the conversation flowed naturally until Carisi stared outside and sighed, he had a lot of questions for her but didn’t know how to ask any of them. 

“What do you want to ask?” She said bluntly, interrupting his thoughts. A smirk grew on his lips and he chuckled, 

“How did you know?” 

“Your eyebrows twitch when you want to ask something, but don’t.” He passed his right hand on his hair and leaned back, his long finders left tracks between his hair. She raised her eyebrows inquisitively, 

“Fine. I may have a few questions…” he smirked, she nodded allowing him to continue. “What really happened in Thailand? Your record says, and I quote, “procedure mission, completed successfully, uneventful” but you returned three weeks later than you should have. What are they trying to hide?” She sighed, and looked at him with a serious expression, 

“If you share this information, I’ll have to terminate you, Dominick. You know that, right?” He nods serious, he knew that Interpol was extremely secretive and that Agents were often told to terminate civilians to keep their secrets. “I don’t want to have to terminate you.” 

“You won’t have too, I promise!” She felt nervous, the only other person who ever knew about her missions, and Thailand had been Catheryn.

“Fine, I was in Thailand from March 2017 to the end of May of the same year. The mission was simple. Locate the women trafficking ring in Bangkok, rescue them, and arrest however participated. We had intel that the ring was trafficking the daughter of the Spanish Prime minister, so it was a high profile mission, it had to be executed perfectly, and fast. At first, everything was going perfectly, I managed to send 10 girls back home, however, the prime minister's daughter was gone, I couldn’t find her anywhere. The ring’s owner, Aran, he was smart. He found out there were spies among his workers, us, so he killed my colleagues. However, he didn’t find out about me, until one day, he called me in….” They are interrupted as the waitress gives them their food, they thank her, Florence continues…


	11. An Eye for an Eye

17th April 2018

It was Florence’s day off, she decided to sleep in since it was such a rare occasion. The last week they had arrested 3 perps from 2 different cases, and one of the arrests involved a pursuit which had left her sore and bruised. The soft covers felt like clouds around her legs, a soft smile drew out her dimples as she slept peacefully.

Mrs.Carisi had left the house to go to the market so she could make a nice lunch for Florence, ever since she temporarily moved in she hadn’t had a single day off. Wit this her Mother instincts decided to cook a nice homemade meal for the young woman. She had called her son to check on him and told him the red-haired girl slept in, this amused him. 

The House was empty, Florence slept silently, and a door opened, with it a man dressed all in black entered in silence. He analysed the house attentively, the floor was sure to creek. He walked towards the kitchen and lowered a brown package on its counter. 

Carefully he walked towards Florence’s room, he could hear her calm breathing, the door opened with a slight turn of the handle. He entered, closing the door behind him slowly. She continued to sleep peacefully, pure silence engulfed the room, he smirked maliciously as he left an apple-sized globe on her bed stand. 

Florence turned in her sleep and her face stopped to his. Her right hand grabbed her gun tightly as she slept. He slowly caressed her face, with this she whispered “Carisi”. The man gets up silently and leaves without waking up the young woman. 

Florence wakes up with Mrs.Carisi screaming, she quickly gets up and runs out the room with her gun in her right hand, ready to shoot. As she entered the kitchen she sees the front door had been broken into, there is shattered glass all over the floor, Chairs turned over, drawers were broken, pictures shattered. The Old woman had dropped her market bags on the floor and stared at her house in horror. Florence ran to her and grabbed her hands tightly, 

“Mrs.Carisi! Are you okay????” As she asked she examined the woman for blood, cuts, anything that would indicate he had been hurt in any way,

“N…no… I jus…just got home….” She whispers as her whole body trembles, Florence holds her tightly in her arms as she calms the old woman. 

The Young Woman called Carisi, he had arrived in less than 10 min, his eyes filled with worry as he barged in the broken front door, Florence sat next to Mrs.Carisi as she took sips from a hot tea Florence had made her, she still trembled. As he saw both were okay he relaxed a bit, he ran to his mother and hugged her, 

“Ma! I’m here! Everything’s okay!” The woman hugged his son tightly silently as he looked at the red-haired woman while hugging his mother. Carisi noticed the young woman was still in her Pijamas, a pair of short shorts, and a white baggy t-shirt on top, her hair was full of volume and messy, she had no glasses on. She looked him in the eye and mouthed “I’m sorry!” Silently. Olivia and Elliot entered with a team of medics. 

A female medic took Mrs.Carisi to be taken care of, while Olivia, Elliot and Carisi checked on Florence. She sat quietly on the porch steps holding her face with both her hands. Carisi sat next to her and wrapped his right arm around her as the two other detectives stood in front of them. 

“You okay?” He asked, Florence nodded and lowered her hands, 

“I’m Fine. Whoever did this, probably didn’t know I was in the room.” She said, “I’m just glad your mother went to the market!” She sighed the annoyance that had been bottled up. Elliot smirked, 

“You’re a lucky little Irish Girl, aren’t you?” Olivia tried not to laugh as both Florence and Carisi chuckled, 

“What do we do now?” The young woman said as she rubbed her eyes, Carisi sitting next to her noticed she had no bra on as he caressed her back softly, he felt the urge to bite his lip, and his jaw tightened. Elliot raised an eyebrow at him, as Olivia replied to Florence’s question, 

“We need to analyse the house, your room too. See what got stolen. Fin and Amaro are canvassing the neighbours. Do you want in? Or enjoy your day off?” The captains asked the red-haired girl, she scoffed and looked at her, obviously choosing to help out. 

“Then, maybe you should get dressed!” Elliot said joking with her, she smiled and got up quickly and spinning in her pyjamas, 

“I don’t look good in these?” She asked joking, Carisi clenched his jaw harder as her long legs pinned next to him, and his view of her shorts was flattering. Elliot laughed as he understood Carisi’s situation. Florence oblivious left to her room to get dressed. 

“Dude, you need to control yourself, at least at work!” Elliot laughed as his colleague got up and fixed his suit, Olivia rose a single eyebrow at both of them inquisitively, Carisi shrugged it off and asked her to interview his Mother, since he couldn’t. 

Florence entered her room, it was dark, the blinds were down. She pulled them up allowing the daylighting to enter the room and shine against every surface. That’s when she noted an orange size globe sitting on her nightstand, it hadn’t been there the night before. Carefully she took it and pressed it against her ear, there were no noises, that excluded a bomb. So she twisted the top part to the left and a soft “click” sounded from it and the bottom half detached itself. She stared at the bottom half, it had a rolled-up paper, her heart started to accelerate, this was from the Bedroom Murderer, he had been in her room, he had been the one that crashed the Carisi house. They wouldn’t find anything missing, he had what he wanted, he had left her a note. 

Her hands were sweaty as she unrolled the paper, it had something written on it, 

“I’ve found your weakness miss future Carisi!”, her heart dropped to her stomach, she felt a need to puke as she read those words. “How the fuck did he find me?” She whispered to herself as she ran to her stuff, nothing was missing. “How the fuck does he know…” she whispered annoyingly thinking about her feelings towards her partner. 

Her mind shot to the brown package she had seen on the counter when she ran to Mrs.Carisi, at first she had thought it was hers. However, after she found the globe her gut told her it was another message. She hid the small globe in her bag, she couldn’t show it to Carisi or he would be even more involved than he already was. Florence put on a bra, a pair of black skinny jeans, her combat boots and attached her gun and badge to her belt. 

The door shut behind her with a loud sound, she sprinted to the kitchen as she called out for Olivia, as she reached the counter the package was still on the counter, well wrapped. 

Her captain appeared with Elliot, Carisi was outside with his Mother. A sense of relief hit her as she saw Carisi hadn’t come. The other two detectives stared at her confused, she inhaled deeply, 

“I think this package is from the Bedroom Murderer…” she said seriously 

“Why would you think that?” Elliot asked getting closer to the package and examining it with his eyes.

“My gut’s just telling me it’s his! It’s not Mrs.Carisi’s, neither mine. Last night it wasn’t here, and She spent all morning at the market. It just makes sense!” She said in a frustrated whisper, 

“This means we need to call the bomb squad…” Olivia said as she passed her hand on her brown hair, 

“If he wanted me dead I’d already be dead Olivia, he was in the house while I slept! This is a message, not an attempt to kill.” She said as she pushed the package closer to her, her stomach felt like a midsummer storm, she sighed as she untied the bow around it, Elliot nodded at Olivia, he trusted the Irish young woman, he put a hand on her shoulder as she unravelled the box. 

I was a brown wooden box, it had a coded padlock, 4 numbers. 

“It’s a fucking riddle! He wants to aggravate us…” Florence said as she ran her hand annoyingly thru her curly hair. 

“Any idea what the code can be?” Olivia asked as she sat down around the counter. Florence indicated no with her head. Elliot sighed and leaned against the counter. Florence’s mind raced, she thought of all the code’s she could think of, what could he possibly want her to not forget. She knew it was something related to the case, and it was something the killer wanted her to keep on her mind at all times. Her eyes lighted up as she knew what he wanted, she grabbed the padlock abruptly, startling her colleagues, she put in the code and it unlocked. She sighed loudly, trying to calm herself, she looked around making sure it was only the three of them. Olivia nodded at her allowing her to open the box. 

As the lid opened she could see the interior of the box was lined with red velvet. It reminded her of a box people used to offer expensive jewellery in. 

The moment she saw what was inside the box Florence turned as white as the walls, Elliot arched both his eyebrows and brought one hand up close to his mouth in an attempt to not vomit. The young woman felt her head dizzy, her stomach had a life of its own, it wanted to leave her body. She felt as if she had stumbled into an endless black hole filled with crushing nauseating sensations. Elliot had to hold her as her legs gave up and she fell, her eyes seemed dead, she was cold and stiff as stared at the box in horror. 

Olivia turned the box to her and in it was a human eye, around it dried blood and a note carved onto the lid of the box, “Here’s one of Catheryn’s missing eyes! Enjoy!” She quickly gave it to a CSI and told them to analyse it and told Elliot to take Florence outside to grab some air, not even she knew what to do. This was a declaration of war.

Elliot took the white red-haired girl outside, she barely walked in shock, he sat her down on the porch. She looked up at him, 

“It was her eye….” She whispered, he nodded not knowing what to say. As she inhales her stomach turns and she gets up, runs to the corner of the house and pukes. Her mind was overwhelmed with emotions. She had been delivered Catherine's eye. That meant she had been buried without her eyes. Why hand they told her about this? Was it in the report? How did she miss this? 

Elliot waited for her leaned against the house’s brick wall, as she got up he handed her a tissue. She grabbed it and tipped her mouth as her lungs gathered enough oxygen for her to talk,

“I’m sorry. I’m okay now.” 

“No, you’re not. None of us are. You’re sucking it up because you know we need to solve this. Don’t confuse things noob!” He said with a wink, in an attempt to temporarily soften the environment. She smiled back and they headed back inside the house. 


	12. Engagements and Cigarettes

18th April 2018

It was the next day, Florence hadn’t told anyone about the globe. She knew that if Olivia knew she would Take Carisi off the case, and that would mean he wouldn’t be around her, that way she wouldn’t be able to protect him. Mrs.Carisi was currently living with her son while her house was being analysed by the CSI. Florence moved into a Hotel 2 blocks away from the precinct, her apartment was almost ready, the only thing left where the new locks. Two days and she would be moving into the newly furnished apartment. 

She had put in a notice at Interpol that had provided her with a couple of Interpol officers she had put in front of Carisi’s building 24h a day without anyone knowing. She had to make sure he and his family were safe. 

She sat at her desk staring at the window in silence, her mind raced with possible outcomes. Elliot interrupted her thought with a hot mug filled with coffee, she smiled at him and grabbed it with both hands, 

“There’s a hidden balcony around the evidence locker, you should go there smoke a cigarette and then come back, take the coffee with you.” He winked at her and left, she chuckled to herself and did what he told her. As she got the balcony, there was a small chair and an ashtray with old butts, the thought of Elliot smoking caused her to laugh. She sat down and inhaled the fresh air, she had a view of the busy city. 

Carisi arrived at the precinct and saw Florence’s desk was empty, but her phone was on the desk. He frowned, he hands seen her at the entrance. He got his coat off, he hadn’t been able to speak to her after the incident the day before. He’d heard the news after she had left the house with her stuff. Elliot walked around printing stuff, he approached his Sergeant, 

“Elliot, have you seen Florence?” 

“Good Morning Carisi. I’m fine, what about you? The Red-Haired Girl you’ve been drooling over? Yeah. She’s outside smoking.” He replied not leaving his gaze from the printer, the detective felt an urge to hide his face with embarrassment and sighed, 

“I didn’t see her. But thanks Serg.” 

“Carisi, we should talk about her. And the nature of your relationship. When things calm down.” Elliot said as the detective left, he clenched his jaw. There was no relationship nature. Nor would there be one, it was against protocol. He wasn’t even sure about what he felt. But he knew that she didn’t feel anything towards him, so Elliot had nothing to worry about. That was the only certainty Carisi had in his life. 

Florence returned to the main hall where all the desks were. Carisi was at his desk taking care of the paperwork, she inhaled deeply and walked to him. 

As she sat on his desk he smirked, her perfume was sweet and strong, he looked up at her, her freckled cheeks were flushed, she had been outside. 

“Good Morning Detective, How are you?” She asked as he leaned back on his chair, a loud sigh escaped his lips, 

“Tired! How about you? I couldn’t find you yesterday after the…” she interrupted him,

“It’s fine! I just wanted to apologize, this was my fault, If I hadn’t been there this wouldn’t have happened. Apologize to your mother for me, please. She probably doesn’t want me near after all…” this time he interrupted her,

“She’s not mad at you, in fact, she didn’t sleep worried sick about you.” Florence smiled softly and nodded, 

“She’s an Angel!” Carisi chuckled, 

“Indeed she is! Just like her son!” He joked as his right hand landed on her knee, she slapped his face lightly,

“Don’t flatter yourself, Detective!” They both smile as both got the confirmation neither of them was either hurt or mad. Amanda calls out Florence, 

“Florence, I have someone to talk to you on line 5!” She nods, pics Carisi’s desk phone and connects to line 5, 

“This is Florence Williams speaking, how can I help you?” As she speaks on the phone right in front of her partner he takes the time to stare at her. Her golden round glasses rested on her small freckle nose, her eyes were bright, each with its colour. Her hair was tied up in a curly mess, some fell on her face. She wore a bat sleeved white shirt and her black skinny jeans with her black boots. Both her badge and gun sat neatly on her belt. She had gotten skinnier ever since she’d arrived.

“Mornin’ Florence!” Her Boss’s voice echoed from the other line, she sighed in silence and faked a happy voice, 

“Good Morning! To what do I owe the pleasure?” 

“Such a nice Girl ye’ are! I’m callin’ because I’m in the Big Apple with me’ son! And thought about grabbin’ lunch with my most promising agent!” Her hand combed her messy hair as she thought about her schedule, 

“I’m free today and tomorrow Sir. Is that good for you?” She asked as she took out her phone with a detailed calendar. 

“That’s gret’! Henry will pick ye’ up today at around 12:00!”

“Henry Sir?” 

“Me Son! He’s a handsome lad! Tall, don’t worry missy, you’ll know when he arrives! See ye’ Later!” With this, the call ended. She stood speechless as she put the phone back, she looked baffled at her partner, 

“Apparently I have a Lunch date with my Boss and his son…” she scoffed amused, Carisi raised his eyebrow, 

“A lunch date?” 

“Yeah, my Boss’s son is picking me up here later, I guess I can’t come up with an excuse…” she is interrupted by Olivia, who stood at her Office’s door with a stack of paperwork and gathered everyone’s attention, Florence was still sitting Carisi’s desk as he sat on his chair next to her, his hand still on her knee. 

“Morning everyone, hope you’ve had a good night sleep because we have a lot to do! The Bedroom Murders have new leads, and we have a high profile case on our hands.” The captain distributed files as she continued, “I and Elliot will take care of the Bedroom murder lead until we are certain its not another dead end. “ she looks Florence in the eyes assuring her she meant it. “Amanda, you’ll stay on desk duty this week, Fin and Amaro you guys have the child molester case in court, Barba wants you guys there to coach you.” Amanda sighed annoyed, Fin and Amaro got their jackets and left, Olivia and Elliot looked at Floranca and her partner, “The high profile case is yours, BUT you both need to behave! I don’t want anyone punching anyone, you understand me?” Florence nods with a smile on her face and takes the file, Carisi gets up amused at Olivia’s scolding. They left the precinct. 

Florence smoked with the car window open as cars drove, 

“So, why do you think your Boss invited you to lunch with his son?” Carisi asked as they passed the empire state building.

“I have no clue, maybe he wants me to date his son!” She joked as a giggle escaped her lips. 

“You’re joking, but its a possibility.” He replied she shrugged as the smoke escaped her lungs onto the busy streets,

“I guess, but believe me, if he has even 1% of his father’s DNA, then he’s flat out ugly!” Her Irish accent pressed on the “Ugly” which made Carisi chuckle slightly, “I’m serious! The man is just… ugh. I didn’t even know he had ever been married!” She sighed amused with the situation, it was hilarious in her mind. More connections would be useful, so in a way meeting, de Henry guy might be an opportunity. “But if the guy’s here now, that means his son is going to the Interpol Conference, that also means he’s attending the Gala…” she thought loudly, Carisi looked at her briefly from the corner of his eyes, 

“Do we have to dress up for the Gala?” He asked, she chuckled softly and looked at him while inhaling some smoke, 

“Not a lot more than you already do! Mr.Suit and Vest!” 

“I have good taste! It’s my Italian vein!” He bragged jokingly, “The ladies love it!” She raised an eyebrow at him and a small smirk, 

“The ladies? What ladies?” 

“They are so many, I can’t even remember their names!” He jokes as he winks at her, she rolls her eyes jokingly, 

“Who would have thought that Dominick Carisi is a Sexist playboy!” He laughed and instantly dropped his right hand on her thigh. She felt a smile grow on her face. 

“And it’s not as if you could talk!” He jokes, 

“What is that supposed to mean Dominick Carisi?!” She asks in a jokingly offended tone,

“I haven’t seen you flirting away thru the streets of NY!” He laughs out, she shakes her head laughing and slaps his arm lightly. “But seriously, is there someone waiting back in London?” He asks curiously. 

“Not anymore. This might surprise you, but before my life blew up in a shit crazy storm, I was once upon a time, Drumroll…. Engaged!” She says laughing, indeed Carisi was not expecting such information, he raised his eyebrows, and she laughed with his reaction, “Not expecting that?” She asks as she throws her cigarette butt out the window.

“Not at all. When was this?”

“I got engaged at 24, and we broke up when I was 26, right before I left for Thailand.” She said as she tied her hair up in a messy bun. “Haven't heard of him ever since, it wasn’t meant to be.” 

Carisi doesn’t reply, he thought of how young she was, ready to commit to the mystery man. In a way, it meant his chances were even slimmer. He smirked to himself, the irony amused him.


	13. Invites and Death Sentence's

18th April 2018

11:45 am

Florence and Carisi arrived back at the precinct. They had interviewed the high profile victim without any incidents. Florence sat on her desk and sighed, Carisi left his jacket on his chair and leaned against her desk, 

“Well, that’s done! We need to go talk to the ex, see if he has an Alibi!” Florence chuckles, 

“I hope he does! That actor is… oof! A good man!” She corrected herself in time, or so she thought, 

“He’s “oof”? Whats does that mean? Can you enlighten me?” He joked raising his eyebrows, she rolled her eyes laughing, 

“You know what I meant!” She stares towards the entrance and sees a 6’3ft tall man, he had a harsh jawline, black curly hair, bright blue eyes, and he was a fan of the gym, he wore a light blue shirt with a grey vest, matching his trousers, and a red necktie. She raised her eyebrows and joked, “speaking of off men… who’s that?” Carisi turned his head and saw who she meant, he shrugged, he had never seen the man. 

She got up and smiled at the man, 

“Hello, sir! Can I help you?” He smiled a bright white smile at the young woman and approached,

“Hi! My name is Henry, my father sent me to pick up Florence.” He had a strong British accent, she bit her tongue, hoping he hand heard her comment earlier and stretched out a hand, 

“I’m Florence! Nice to meet you! I’ll just grab my jacket and we can leave!” She returned to her chair and grabbed her jacket, as she locked eyes with Carisi she raised her eyebrows and mouthed silently “I was wrong!” Smirked amused with the situation. They left together and Carisi remained silent, digesting what he had just witnessed. That was the Boss’s son? 

“Damn, that man looked like a Greek god!” Said a voice that startled him, as he turned around he saw Amanda staring her coffee slowly, “Seriously, who was that? He’s delicious!” 

“That is Florence’s Boss’s son, Henry. Want his number?” He asked with a frown, not amused by the conversation. She raised an eyebrow with a smirk, 

“I’m already committed, unfortunately…” she laughs jokingly, “But he seemed pretty interested in the carrot piece of ass.” She winks at Carisi, “You better up your game Carisi, you’re competing with Gods!” She burst into laughter at his annoyance. 

“I’m not in a competition. She’s my partner, that's all.” 

“Sure, dude!” Said a man’s voice from behind him,

“You’re just partners, and so am I and Amanda.” Amaro joked as they both exchanged teasing looks.

“Just because neither of you managed to keep it in your pants, doesn’t mean me and Florence are the same!” Carisi replied annoyed at their remarks. 

“Then you should be totally fine with her going out to lunch with a greek god!” Amanda said raising her eyebrows at him, 

“I am.” he spat back.

Florence and Henry sat at the restaurant, her Boss hadn’t arrived so they made small talk to pass the time, 

“So, what part of England are you from?” Henry asked politely, Florence smiled 

“I’m Irish, from Dublin. But I grew up in London, my father is a Diplomat. You?”

“My mother is English, and as you may have noticed, my Father is Scottish,” he smirks, which caused his jawline to stand out, making Florence admire the man in front of her, “So I grew up between London and Glasgow.” 

“That must’ve been annoying, growing up like that I mean.” He shakes his head slightly with a smile, 

“Not at all, it was quite amusing.” Another awkward silence installed itself between them, as Florence canvassed the restaurant think of possible questions she could ask. 

“So, Henry, what do you do for a living?” She blurted out in an attempt to kill the awkwardness,

“I’m a Flight Sergeant at the British Air Force, and I know you’re a field agent for Interpol, and according to my Father, one of the Best.” She feels herself flush with his compliment. “Holy Fuck, a Flight Seargent…” she thought to herself, how old was the guy? He had to be older than her, but he certainly didn’t look a lot older. 

“How long have you been in the air force?” She asked politely, he chuckled and raised his right eyebrow, 

“Is that your polite attempt to ask me my age?” 

“Maybe…” he chuckled and locked his eyes with hers, 

“Let’s do this, You may ask me a total of three “indecent” questions, and I’ll answer them, and I can do the same to you. Deal?” She raised her right eyebrow and smirked, 

“Fine, but they can’t be all used on the same occasion. Deal?” He nodded with a flirty smirk, “So, how old are you?” She asked, 

“ I am 37 years old. Ten years older than you. This means you’re only but a child.” He jokes and winks at her, 

“You look younger.” She replies in an attempt to not return the flirting, she felt guilty if she did. She knew her feelings for Carisi were wrong, but she also knew they existed. Therefore she would respect him.

“Thank you, I do analyse that comment as a good thing.” 

“Depends on your perspective.” She said raising her eyebrows, he chuckled

“I believe it's my turn” as he prepared himself to speak his father arrived and sat down between them, 

“I’m sorry, not expecting to find the French minister on the way here.” He said in between chuckles “I’m guessing you’ve become a wee’ bit acquainted .” He smiled from his son over to Florence, she nodded politely. 

“So, deary’ tell me! How’s the room murder goin’?” He asked the red-haired girl, she proceeded to tell him all that had happened since she had arrived in NY. 

“Oh dear’ that’s dark. How are ye’ holding up?” 

“I’m fine, I’ve been through worse Sir!” The man laughs as he takes a piece of bread, “ Henry, this is the girl from Thailand I told ye’ about!” He tells his son, who raises his eyebrows at her, 

“You’re a little fox aren’t you?” He asks flirtatious, 

“A fox?” She asks confused with his analogy, 

“They are cute, but vicious, just like you!” He winked at her, she couldn’t help but feel flattered, a man like Henry finding her interesting had an impact on her. Before the Carisi feelings, she’d been either close to death or with her high school boyfriend/fiancé.

“I’ll accept that compliment, just this once.” She said with a raised eyebrow which Henry replied with a flirty wink, the older man interrupts them with a laugh, 

“I had a genius idea! Why don’t ye’ two go together to the Gala! You make a very pretty couple to look at!” Florence almost choked on her drink as her boss burst out his suggestion, Henry stared amused at the red-haired girl, 

“I think that's a great idea, Father, what do you think Florence?” She felt silent, he hadn’t thought much about the gala, but in her head, she had thought that she might go accompanying Carisi, even if it were just as Partners. 

“Sounds Great Sir!” She finally replied.

19th April 2018

12 days to the Gala. 

The day before Florence hadn’t been able to return to the precinct, she’d texted Carisi letting him know, however, he never replied, so before heading to her Hotel she passed by his building, the officers monitoring his house had confirmed he’d gotten home safely. 

She arrived at her desk and in front of hers Carisi sat silent reading a file with his coffee mug next to him, she stared at him, his eyebrows furrowed together as he took care of the paperwork, his blue eyes concentrated, he had extremely handsome features, and his suit played perfectly on his body, the vest and trousers were dark grey and his shirt black, alongside with his necktie. The vest and shirt hugged his toned upper body, as she was lost in thought staring at him, he stared up at her amused, 

“Is there something wrong Agent Williams?” She widened her eyes and shook her head quietly as she took off her long black jacket, she had a white long-sleeved knit shirt, tucked in her high skinny black jeans her badge and gun where they usually were. Her hair fell loose and bright orange.

She turned to hang her jacket and Carisi was given a full view of her from the back, he stared at her figure, she was thinner than when she had arrived, the worry was starting to grow inside him.

She sat in front of him still quiet, 

“How was lunch yesterday?” He asked bluntly, she stared at him frowned, 

“Horrid!” She replied annoyed, “Even when I’m not dealing directly with Interpol, my Boss manage’s to be present in my life.” 

“What happened?” He chuckled amusedly

“I have to attend the Interpol Gala with Henry!” She rolls her eyes as the words leave her lips, his jaw clenches as he hears the news, he had planned to invite her, even just as friends. 

“That sounds fun!” He replied ironically, she raised her eyebrows in annoyance, 

“Super!” 

Olivia and Elliot entered and called Florence, she got up quickly and accompanied them into the Captain’s office, the broad-shouldered detective closed the door behind him. Florence stood in the middle of the office with her arms crossed, 

“Do you have the results back?” She asked, her tone serious, they both nodded and the Captain handed her a file and whispered “I’m Sorry”, Florence read it quickly, it was the confirmation that the eye she had found was indeed Catheryn’s. She felt sick to her stomach, the last few days she’d been lying to herself, convincing herself that the murderer had simply sent a random eye. Her breathing intensified as she looked back at them, her face was filled with rage, Elliot spoke before she could, 

“How do you want to proceed?” He asked sincerely

“I get to call the shots?” She asked confused, Olivia smirked and sat on her chair, 

“The bastard came after Catheryn, and now you. He’s going after our own, it’s personal. So, I’m putting you in charge, I know you won’t stop until he is behind bars. There’s only one condition.”

“What condition?” Florence asks fiercely 

“We do it by the book!” Elliot said, his eyes and hers locked, she didn’t enjoy the condition, but if she was in charge she could easily protect Carisi and his family. 

“Fine.” She finally replied, “Do I get my own office?” She asked, lightening the mood, the captain chuckled,

“You wish!” She sighed, “So, what’s the next move?” 

Florence’s mind started to run wild as she thought what the best move would be, they had almost no evidence, the globe she had received had no prints, he shad dusted it, and it had come up clean. So that was a dead-end, not worth mentioning. Then she remembered the gloves,

“The gloves we found! What did they do with them?” She asked, 

“There were no prints,” Elliot replies, she shakes her head as she had an idea, 

“I know, but they looked like real leather, so they must have a brand, we could find what stores sell that brand, and maybe the perp paid with a credit card!” She said while pacing rapidly, Olivia nodded, 

“I’ll take care of that right away, anything else?” Elliot asks by the door, Florence closes her eyes to replay the case in her head, the victims' faces alined in her mind and she thought she’s seen something, she opens her eyes rapidly, 

“I need all the files from all the victims. And I want Fin to help me.” She said Elliot raised a suspicious eyebrow, 

“Fin? You don’t want Carisi?” 

“No. You can take him with you.” She replied quickly, with a nod she left the office, grabbed her jacket and called out Fin, “Hey! Morning! You're with me today!”, he sighed deeply, draped his coffee on his desk and grabbed his jacket. They left.

_____

23:50 

Fin and Florence sat in a dark conference room, the table filled with files. Hours had passed since they started analysing the files, the young woman had deep dark circles around her eyes. Fin with every passing minute sighed louder. Until a loud “FOUND IT! FUCKING FOUND IT!” Interrupted the silence, Florence got up with a file in her hand and shook it in front of Fin’s face with a large smile, 

“My suspicion was correct!” 

“Would you care to share the information?” He asks while leaning against his chair, they were both tired, 

“His first victim, Jill Smith, 14, had blond hair, and the body was found intact. No eyes missing. However, the next victim, Maggie Black, 16, two years older, had brown hair, and the body was found without eyes. Then, later, the third victim was found, Megan Jones, 18, again, two years older, with natural red hair, she had both her eyes when found. Jennifer Taylor, 20, black hair, no eyes! Later, Stacy Davies….” She was interrupted by her inpatient colleague, 

“Florence, I know their names, and ages, get to the point!” She smirked and laid the file in front of him, 

“I found the full pattern! The victims are always 2 years older, but that ended when he murdered Catheryn. BUT, he has a colour pattern. Their hair! It goes, blond, brunette, redhead, black, and then it starts again, and all of them had natural hair. This means he wants them natural, clean. And, then finally, the eyes! He has a fascination with the eyes, but he didn’t take all of them. He did it alternately! Maybe to trail off the police, or it might just be another part of his OCD murder Menu.” She sits down tired and sighs, “And this means I right about one last thing.” She smiles tired, 

“Which is?” The man asks as he takes a sip of his coffee,

“I’m the next red-haired Victim.” 


	14. Nightmares

20th April 2018

2 am

“But that's the NEXT victim! He’s planning on killing you?” Elliot yells in the Captain's office as Fin and Florence stand tiredly staring both at him and Olivia, the young woman shrugs, 

“I guess. But this is great!” She says opening her arms, in an attempt to make them understand, “He’s going to try to get close to me to kill me, that gives us a window to catch him!” 

“Sure! We’ll just let him kill you, and then catch him!” Says Elliot ironically, Florence rolls her eyes, 

“He won’t manage to kill me!” 

“How do you know that?” Fin gets up annoyed, “We’re not putting your life on the line just to catch a guy!” She sighs loudly, 

“You need to chill out a bit! We do this all the time at Interpol, you lure him in, and then, you fucking arrest him! It ain't hard!” Her Irish accent was noticeable with her annoyance, “Anyway, I don’t think he’s going to use the same M.O! He wants to kill me out of spite, not sexual attraction. That means, he’ll kill in a fast way. No torture, no rape, no molestation, no nothing! Just Bom, Dead!” She attempts to reason with her colleagues, they fall silent until the Captain stands, 

“You’re really fucked up Florence.” She says finally, the young woman sighs aggravated, and rolls her eyes, 

“You guys aren’t understanding what I want to do!”

“WE ARE! You want to use yourself for bait! Like a piece of dead meat! We don’t do that here in America! We’re not savages!” Elliot replies annoyed, 

“Whoa! Do not make this a nationality thing! I’m Irish! We’re fucking harmless!” Her accent extremely noticeable, which cause Fin to close his lips into a thin line, in an attempt to not laugh, 

“Harmless? What do you call the IRA?” Elliot raises his eyebrow, and she huffs annoyed, 

“Seriously? That was one occasion, we’ve been thru a lot of famines, and the British are always shittin’ on us!” 

“That's enough! We don’t need a history lesson! We need to figure this out before Florence gets shot, or blown up!” Olivia interrupts the two detectives. 

“I won’t even lose my eyes! I’m not an eye looser victim!” She says jokingly. Florence was the only one who laughed at her own dark joke. She sighs loudly, “whatever you do, DON’T tell Carisi! He had enough to worry about.” Elliot looks at Olivia and smirks, 

“So that’s why you chose Fin, and not Carisi for today, you had your suspicions about this already,” Olivia says narrowing her eyes. 

“Yes.” Florence confesses. 

“We’ll have to tell him once you’re in the witness protection!” Fin says staring at the young woman. She raised both her eyebrows and laughed, 

“You’re joking. Right?” None of them replied, they stared at her in silence. She shook her head annoyed, 

“I’m not going to that pathetic program! I’m an Agent, I don’t need protection! I’m trained for this for fuck sake! I don’t fucking care how the fuck you fucking deal with these fucking situation! But I’m NOT leaving! And I’m not gonna be treated like a Fucking victim!” She grabs her jacket, furious, and slams the door behind her a loud “Fuck You!” Is heard as she leaves the precinct. 

“She took it well…” Elliot says breaking the silence.

7 am

Florence woke up with her phone ringing beside her, she sighed loudly, Carisi’s name popped on the screen, 

“Yes?” She asked, her voice sleepy

“I’m in the lobby. Get dressed! You’re moving into your apartment today!” He cheered loudly to annoy her, she let out a loud groan and hung up. As she sat on the bed her back cracked loudly. Her right hand reached under her t-shirt and pressed her back, her cold fingers passed above her scars. She sighed and got up. In 10 minutes she arrived at the lobby, Carisi stood against one of the lobby’s pillars waiting for her, He wore one of his well-known suits Florence enjoyed staring at him wearing the suits, they hugged his upper body very flatteringly. She smiled as he combed his hair with his hand. As she got closer she felt his cologne, as she passed him she gently punch his side without stopping, he bent over as he felt the punch and followed her, she smiled at him with a flirty wink, he bit his under lip, her bright smile intoxicated him. 

They got outside and she lit a cigarette, 

“Good Morning Detective!” She said as smoke escaped her lips, 

“Smoking this early Agent Williams?” She winked at him jokingly, 

“Life’s short.” He shook his head in disapproval, she felt her phone vibrate, it was a text from Olivia, 

“You two have the off, so you can get settled at the new apartment. Tomorrow I want both of you here at 8 am sharp. And figure out a way to tell him about your suicide mission. 

X Olivia.”

Florence smirked at Olivia’s dirty game. It was payback for not agreeing with the witness protection program. She knew Carisi would flip, especially at Florence for not telling him. But she rather risk him mad at her over him dead. 

“I’m hungry, want to go grab something to eat? My treat!” She smiles at Carisi, 

“Sounds good!” He replies, she notices him approaching her, as he does her heart starts to flutter, and he drops a soft kiss on her forehead, she closes her eyes and lets her lips curl into a smile as her right-hand finds his jacket and she holds it tight.

20 pm 

Florence and Carisi sat on her new yellow couch, as they relaxed a bit. It had been a hectic day. They had moved all her stuff and cleaned the whole new apartment. It was a small 1 bedroom apartment. Her living room had a big yellow couch, black and white decor and a big flat Tv. The Kitchen had a direct view of the living room and its big windows. Her Bathroom was all black and white tile and yellow towels, and her room was all black and white with a big King-sized bed and her small closet. It was her small little New York corner, she loved it. 

“I love the Black and Yellow theme you’ve got here!” He joked as he laid on her couch with closed eyes. She chuckles as she does the same thing, they were exhausted. 

“I know, it's really cool.” She sighs as her body melts on to the couch. “Are you hungry?” 

“I could eat.” He replies with a shoulder shrug, 

“I don’t have any food, but we can order some pizza, and watch a movie.” She suggests as she sits back up and ties her hair up.

“Sounds great! I don’t think I would’ve had the energy to cook.” She says with a chuckle, 

“I could’ve cooked!” She says as her right-hand slap's his face lightly, 

“Sure! And you’d burn the new apartment down, and then I’d have to help you moved into another one! I can’t handle that amount of moving in my life!” He jokes with a laughter 

Florence gets up and calls the pizzeria while Carisi sits up and turns her new tv on. While he sets up the tv she decided to put on something more comfortable. She changes into black leggings and a big warm knitted shirt. As she left her new room into her new living room, she saw Carisi seated on her couch comfortably, changing tv channels. It was a simple view, but it made her smile. 

“Dominick! Get your feet off my new couch!” She joked as she sat down next to him,

“I can do what I want! I put the couch together!” He lightly pushes her to the side as he lays both his feet close to her, she laughs and tries pushing them off, “My feet are stronger than you!” Florence laughs and pinches his feet, which makes him laugh and take his feet off of her,

“I thought you were older than me!” 

“I am. But I also have a better sense of humour Miss Williams!” He winks at her 

______

Florence laid on the hard cold floor as she opens her eyes, the bright sunlight burning thru her face. As she sits up the busy streets wake her ears, suddenly gunshots.

Once the sound cracks thru her somnolence Florence becomes fully alert, her eyes begin to take in her surrounding, she’s in the middle of one of many NY busy streets, shielding her from the gunshots is Carisi’s car, across from it black SUV’s form a wall. Men behind them shoot against her.

Her gun is fully loaded, with this she smirks, the safety pin is removed, the red-haired woman sticks her head up and identifies two shooters, with a deep inhale she stands quickly and shoots two rounds, both hitting perfectly the two men in the chest. 

“Two, down.” She congratulates herself. Seconds pass and she stands again, ready to fire. Her body freezes as one of the body’s she shot lies on the ground, a large blood puddle grows next to it,it’s face pale and lifeless, her heart sinks.

Carisi lays motionless on the floor, his chest filled with blood.

Suddenly, the two of them are the only ones in the middle of the busy city, she runs to him and holds his dead motionless body against her chest, as her screams muffle into her loud heartbeat.

Florence wakes up screaming, cold sweat dripping down her face, her breathing heavy, 

“Hey, hey, hey…. You’re fine! You’re home!” Carisi’s voice sounds, she blinks multiple times until her eyes register her surroundings, she was on her yellow couch, they must’ve fallen asleep watching the movie her mind thinks. She sighs heavily as her hands comb her hair back, she stares Carisi in the eyes, they were lively eyes. She shakes her head lightly, 

“Sorry, it was a nightmare…” once she finishes her sentence he embraces her tightly and whispers in her ear, 

“You’re safe. Don’t worry. I have them too…” She allows herself to melt into the embrace.


	15. War Offers

22nd April 2018

9 am

Florence stared at her computers screen blankly. Thoughts swirled in her mind.

A loud thud scared her back to reality as Carisi set a coffee mug on her desk without saying a word. The previous day the rest of the SVU team had been informed about the leads and news on the Bedroom Murderer case. Since he hadn’t said a word to his partner, she knew he’d be furious with her for not letting him know and refusing to want to disclose any details to him. 

Her eyes glanced over her glasses, 

“Still giving me the cold shoulder Dominick?” She asked as an eyebrow rose, he didn’t reply, sat at his desk quietly, she rolled her eyes annoyed, picked up the mug and her pack and left to “her” balcony. 

She smoked in peace as the coffee warmed her other hand, as a sigh escaped her lips so did a cloud of smoke which was dissipated by a big strong hand, 

“Annoyed?” Elliot asked as he attempted to shake off the smoke, 

“What do you think?” She asked as another cloud of smoke surrounded the tall man, “The thing is, you guys don’t understand, I’m still using myself as bait! Once I run it thru my boss, it’s done.” 

“And you forget that we aren’t against you,” Florence smirks and inhales a large amount of smoke, 

“Yes. You are.” She exhales the sour smoke, “If a woman hasn’t discovered something that she will die for, she isn’t fit to live.” Her eyes lock with Elliots, they are filled with arrogance, “I do not do it for glory. I do it for Honor. I’m going to do what I need to. You can either help me or not disturb me.” She puts out her half-smoked cigarette and leaves not making a sound. The red-haired woman passes the main room and with a swift move gathers her jacket and leaves the precinct. 

The streets were filled with busy people, the cold air hit Florence’s face as she roamed New York. Her phone rang loudly, not looking at it’s screen she picked up, 

“Florence Williams.” 

“Hello Florence, this is Henry. We met the other day.” A cheeky voice sounded from the other end, she stopped and stared at her watch, it was rather early.

“I recall.” She replies dryly 

“I need to conference with you, would you happen to be free?” She sighed silently and rubbed her eyes annoyed, 

“Yes, I am. Where should I meet you?” 

“At the British Consulate. We’ll be waiting.” And he hung up. Florence called a cab and headed to the Consulate, thoughts flooded her mind, who was “we”? Who else was waiting to see me at the Consulate? Where her papers not in order? Did she have to go back to London?

She arrived at a big skyscraper which had the European Union and the Union Jack Flags at the front, blowing with the cold spring wind. She smiled with the sight of something so familiar as the Union Jack. 

As she entered a tall man approached her, 

“Miss Williams?” He asked politely 

“Yes, Florence Williams.” She replied as she showed the man her British ID. The man nodded and extended an arm, singling her to follow him, 

“The Ambassador is waiting for you.” Florence nodded with a blank expression as the tall man took her to the 52nd floor. As they stepped out the elevator Florence’s eyes were filled with natural light, the whole floor was surrounded by full-length windows, she could see the Brooklyn bridge. 

She entered the Ambassadors personal office, Henry sat on one of the wing chairs, he wore his royal air force uniform, his hat sat next to him on the glass table. In front of him stood an older man, who wore the British ambassador uniform with his medals pinned on his chest to the left. Near the wide window sat a man with the British General uniform. 

Florence immediately stood straight and salute’s her superiors with respect, 

“Good Morning Sir’s.” With this Henry and the General stand up in respect and nod at her, the Ambassador approaches her with a polite smile, 

“At ease Miss Williams.” She nods quietly, Henry winks at her as the General lights up a cigar, 

“If I had known I would be meeting you, Sir, I would have dressed appropriately. I apologise for the disrespect.” The red-haired woman apologises still standing straight and looking up, 

“No need for such formalities young Girl.” The General says as the room is filled with the smell of the cigar, Henry proceeds to approach her and smile, 

“I am glad you made it!” Henry says as he offers her a cigarette, the young woman accepts it and puts it between her lips as the tall blue-eyed man lights it for her, 

“Yes, we all are. Miss Williams, I read in your file that to this day, all your military operations were concluded flawlessly.” The general says as he opens a beige file holder with “CLASSIFIED” stamped in red on its front. Florence nods. 

“Indeed. I believe that the Thailand operation had its bump because of Interpol, they aren’t very organised in all fairness.” The ambassador chuckles, 

“With all due respect Sir’s, it was my mistake that cost the operation. Not Interpol’s lack of organisation.” Florence replies, never allowing her to guard down, her back remaining fully straight. 

“Loyal. I like that.” The General says with a loud laugh. Henry raises at her his eyebrows amused, however, she doesn’t reply. 

“I see you aren’t keen on waiting. We will go straight to what we need from you.” The ambassador says, with this the face’s in the room tense up, Florence nods in approval, “We have a new Military Program, it is quite delicate. And we want to recruit you as a soldier.” 

“Delicate, as in secret. I would be hired anonymously.” Florence says, understanding what they wanted, “What is the nature of this program?” 

“Political. Isn’t it always?” Henry replied with a smirk, 

“Indeed Political, and Economical.” The General says as a cloud of smoke surrounds him, The Ambassador taps the glass table lightly creating a pattern of sounds, 

“Where is it?”

“Sudan. Africa.” Henry says with a wink

“I know where Sudan is.” She replies coldly as she inhales a large cloud of smoke, “What does England want from Sudan?” 

“Oil.” The General spits at the young woman, 

“I will not participate in a genocide just because England needs some oil. I am no longer a soldier, I am an Interpol Agent. You can’t force me.” Florence feels her cheeks burn with anger, 

“Calm down Girl. It will not be a Genocide operation.” The General raises his voice annoyed, “We’re neither savages nor Americans. Have some respect.” Henry holds back a chuckle, 

“Sudan is currently under a Military Dictatorship. The Operation consists of taking down a Fascist brute who calls himself Dictator Abdo. Our troops will help start Sudan’s Democratic Revolution, and in return, we get 76% of the countries oil.” The blue-eyed man explains as he lights another cigarette. 

“I don’t think this program is up my alley. Morally.” Florence replies as she pushes her glasses up, 

“How so?” The Ambassador laughs, “Sudan’s women are among the most repressed in the world. They are sold for sex trafficking. Killed for showing skin. Raped to make children, so the children grow up to join the army. You would help change all that. You would be able to help countless women,” he slides her a photo, “I believe Catheryn would have agreed to such a cause.” Florence holds tight the black and white photo of her and her dead friend, both in their army garment, a group of natives women around them, all smiling as a large British flag is waved behind them. The memories flood her mind as she remembers the day the two of them had managed to free an only woman refugee camp from rebels.

“When do you need a reply?” The woman asked, not leaving her gaze from the photo, 

“The first party leaves in 2 weeks and a half.” Henry replied

“I’ll give you an answer before that.” 

3 pm 

Florence sat down on her desk at the precinct, a throbbing headache clenched over her. She released a heavy sigh as she shoved two small round pills in her dry mouth and swallowed. 

“Complicated morning?” Fin asked as he dropped a pile of files on her desk, 

“I guess you can say that.” She replied not opening her eyes. 

“I have a small surprise for you.” Once she heard this her eyes opened and looked directly at him with a smile, 

“You do?” 

“I found a victim who I believe is the only survivor of the Bedroom Mudere.” He smiles at her and points at the file he dropped on her desk, Florence opens it, 

“Natalie Windsor, 12y, black hair, 5ft. Raped on the 3rd of November 2015. Attacked at home, around 5 pm, Mother working during the attack.” The young woman looks back at Fin with an arched brow, 

“Why do you think she’s a victim of the Bedroom murderer? She survived, has both eyes…” Fin interrupts, 

“What they didn’t put in the file, she was blinded with acid. I think this was his first attempt, and he escalated from there. Instead of blinding them with acid, he learned how to take out the eyes, so he can keep them and relive all the attacks. The girl is exactly 2 years younger then Jill Smith, the victim we thought had been the first. My gut tells me this is the lead we needed.” Florence sighs as she looks at the detective, 

“It’s plausible.” Her red curly hair seemed like a curtain on her shoulders as she combed it with her slender fingers. “Do we know where she is now?” 


	16. New Jersey Suburbs

24th of April 2018

10 am 

Florence stood at the Precincts entrance waiting for Carisi, she’d found the dress of the possible first victim, he’d went to get the car. Two days had passed since Henry had called her and she’d gotten the job offer, however, she had given it little thought. The fact that Carisi barely spoke to her bothered her thoughts more. His car parked in front of her and the detective signalled her to get in, so she did. 

Florence sat and her perfume filled the car, the detective almost felt himself melt with it. It had been a few days since he’d fallen asleep at her place and slept holding her. And it had also been a few days since he found out the red-haired woman had attempted to lie to him. That thought made him want to yell at her. “How could she?” He thought to himself. “I might not agree with her methods, but I would always stay by her side. She didn’t have to lie.” He kept on in his mind. The Agent sat silently beside him, he took a look from the corner of his eyes, her hair seemed redder than ever, turning her skin paler, she wore a black tight turtleneck, with black trousers and boots, for the cold a long white wool jacket. Even with the simplest attire, she seemed marvellous. 

A large sigh echoed in the car, Florence looked at her partner confused, 

“We Need to Talk.” The words came from the blue-eyed detective surprising the young woman, 

“Not Shit Dominick.” She replied staring back out the window, 

“It’s an hour drive, I guess its enough time to do so.” 

“It’s plenty of time.” She said as she rolled her eyes and stared back at him, “You’ve had a few days to talk to me. Yet you thought it would be mature to not do so. So, why the change of heart?” Another sigh left his lips, “Such impatience Dominick, spit it out already…” the young woman is interrupted by her partner's angry voice, 

“For GOD's sake Florence!!! Just Stop!!!”

“Stop what?”

“STOP thinking you can do this alone!!!” He looks at her for a second with hurt eyes, it broke her heart the way he looked at her, “You’re arrogant because you want to push people away, and you think you can do everything on your own. News Flash! You CAN’T” his right-hand combs his hair in frustration, “You were so selfish Florence…” 

The red-haired agent turned to him with wide eyes, 

“Selfish??? How dare yo…” she is interrupted by a yelling Carisi, 

“You were FUCKING selfish!!! Pulling me in! I Adore you! I worry about you SO much it scares me! And then you push me away!!! How the fuck is that fair???” She stays silent knowing he was partly right, it had been selfish of her to try and push him away, but she’d thought it were for his protection. “Florence, do you realize what it felt like to know from Olivia that You wanted to use yourself as bait? FROM OLIVIA!” She shakes her head quietly, “I would have stood by your side! I always have! Even if I didn’t agree with your decision!” He scoffs “But you decided to lie and hide it from me!!!” A light sigh escapes his lips in annoyance, 

“I’d die for you Florence. And you? You lied to me.” 

Florence feels tears burning her eyes, the feeling of disappointing him crushed her. Carisi’s right hand felt Florence’s cold hand wrap around it tightly, he saw from the corner of his eye that she’d grabbed his hand and stared at them, 

“I’m sorry Dominick.” She sighed, “I’m not good with apologies…” she’s interrupted by her partner, 

“You don’t need to apologise. You need to understand that You made a mistake. If you learn with it, then that's apology enough.” He tightens his grip around her hand tenderly and kisses it, “I believe that apologies aren’t said, they are avoided.” He looks at her and smiles, the young woman smiles back, and as he returns his gaze on to the road she allows a tear to fall. 

They arrived at North Haledon, New Jersey. The parked at a green suburban street, a long line of big identical houses stood in front of them, Florence walked towards number 44, the mailbox read “Windsor Family”, her stomach fell. 

The doorbell rang for less than a minute before the large red door was opened, a slender 50’ish-year-old lady stood behind it is a large smile on her face, 

“Good Morning! How can I help you?” Florence smiled as Carisi showed the woman his badge, 

“Good Morning Mrs.Windsor, I am Agent Florence Williams with Interpol, and this is my partner, Dominick Carisi with the NYPD. Would you mind terribly if we came in?” Florence’s heavy British accent made the woman frown for a second, the door was fully opened and she invited the two to enter, the house was a normal family house, filled with photos and toys, Mrs.Windsor took them to the living room, 

“Can I get you some coffee?” The woman looked at Florence “Or, some tea?”, they declined politely, 

“Mrs Windsor, please, take a seat,” Carisi said with a tender voice, the woman obeyed, her expression turning into worry, 

“Has something happened to my husband?” 

“No, don’t worry Mam, Nothing has happened, we are here regarding your daughter Natalie! We were wondering if we could speak to her.” Carisi said as he sat next to the woman. Florence looked around and noticed none of the recent photos had a girl present, only two boys. 

“Ah, you’re here regarding Natalie’s Rape…” the woman said, her features became blank, emotionless “Have you found the man?” 

“No, however, we have new leads, and we need to talk to Natalie if it were possible,” Florence replied as she approached the photo wall, 

“You want to talk with Natalie?”

“Yes, we need her to help us figure some things out,” Carisi added, Florence analysed each photo carefully as she listened to the conversation, 

“Well, I’m afraid you can’t.” 

“We understand this must be difficult, but we would really need to speak to her, just for a moment Mam,” Carisi said, the woman shook her head and tapped Carisi’s hand lightly, 

“No Mr.Carisi, you may not talk to my daughter, because she took her own life two months ago.” Florence felt her stomach fall and understood why there were no photos of a girl, not one. An uncomfortable silence filled the room, Florence approached the woman and perched allowing her eyes to level with the woman's’, 

“I’m so very sorry for your loss.” The woman smiled sadly and tapped the sound woman hand, 

“It’s alright when she died she barely had a life. We don’t judge her for taking her life.” The woman sighed, “We just hope god didn’t judge her either.” She grabs the gold cross hanging on her neck. Florence tightens the grip of her other hand and smiles softly, 

“I can guarantee he didn’t.” 

12 pm 

Florence and Carisi left the Windsor house, they approached the car silently. Florence had her back to Carisi, 

“you okay?” She asked, as she turned to look at her partner, she noticed how pale he was, the young woman approached the tall detective, 

“Dominick? What’s wrong?” She cupped his cold pale face, he looked at her in the eyes, his eyes were filled with terror, 

“The girl killed herself…. Because of that monster. She was a child.” Florence hugged him tenderly as her hand travelled his long back reassuring him calmly, 

“I know, it's horrible. But, all we can do now, is find him, and make him pay. Make him pay for what he did to Natalie, Catheryn, and all the other victims!” Her eyes locked with his bright blue ones, “Yeah?” 

Carisi felt as if time had stopped, Florence’s face stood a few inches from his. He could feel her body heat, her face was pale and freckled, almost as starry sky on a summer night. Her eyes were as different as the two partners were, however still seemed perfectly paired. Her lips were a sweet shade of rose, he looked at them, his eyes filled with desire. Then back at her eyes, they seemed so innocent, perfect. The detective felt an urge to lock his dry lips with her plump ones.

“Let’s grab something to eat? You seem pale Dominick.” His thoughts were interrupted by her sweet voice, he brought himself back to his normal self and nodded as he walked back to the car, his right hand on top of his lips wich just moments ago almost locked themselves with her’s.

2 pm 

Florence and Carisi had lunch a dinner not far from the Windsor house, they sat outside as the young woman smoked a cigarette, 

“Didn't you notice anything strange?” She asked as smoke escaped her lungs

“Strange?” He asked as he stared at the grey skies,

“Yes. Strange. At the Windsors’. They had no photos of Natalie. None…” she inhaled deeply

“The family suffered a lot, maybe they took the photos down, to avoid reliving the nightmare…” he shrugged not leaving his gave from the bad weathered skies.

“I don’t think its that. There were neither old nor new photos with Natalie. Only with the brothers. If my daughter killed herself, I’d leave at least one photo of her.” She exhales smoke, “And the recent photos didn’t seem at all grim. They had big meaningful smiles. And one was dated 3 weeks ago.” Florence looked at Cars and noticed he stared at the sky distracted from what she was saying. She put her face two inches from his, covering his view, Now his view was her big lashed heterochromatic eyes. “Pay attention Mr.Carisi!!!” She joked with a large smile. He chuckled and left a soft kiss of her forehead as he sat straight, 

“You have my full attention. Go.” She raised an eyebrow jokingly, 

“You better pay attention Dominick Carisi!” The way she said his full name with her British accent sent chills thru his spine and gave him the urge to bite his lip, which he fought. “I don’t think the girl killed herself Dominick…” she said with a cold straight face, he raised his eyebrows and widened his eyes, 

“What are you saying Florence?” 

“I think either the Mother or the Father killed Natalie.” A speck of ash falls from her cigarette as she inhales a large portion of the smoke


	17. Natalie's Body

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> I want to thank everyone who's been reading my story! It makes me so happy to know that you are enjoying it!!! <3

> “What would make you think that?” Carisi asks, his eyes wide with confusion, Florence sits on his cars hood, 
> 
> “Think about it! She obviously blamed her daughter for being raped, and because of the rape she became blind, so her family had to take extra care of her, so, they killed her, staged it as a suicide, and BAM they are free!” 
> 
> “Your' mind is truly twisted…” Carisi says as he approaches her with arched eyebrows, he extends his right hand, which she takes. Carisi pulls her up slowly, “Respect my car Agent Williams while you fabricate such conspiracy theories!” He winks at her jokingly, she sighs, picks up her phone and makes a call, it rings twice and someone picks up on the other end, 
> 
> “Hello?” 
> 
> “Henry. I need a favor, and you owe me.” Carisi frowns internally, she had fallen probably the man he most disliked in New York. 
> 
> “Shoot…” the man on the other end sighed
> 
> “I want the medical examiners complete file on a victim called Natalie Windsor, died on the 14th of February 2018, in North Haledon, New Jersey.” She says quickly and smiles victoriously at Carisi and sticks her tongue out. Carisi rolls his eyes with a smile on his face. 
> 
> “You’ll have it in your e-mail in 20 min max!” 
> 
> “Thanks! Bye!” Florence readys herself to hang up, when interrupted by Henry,
> 
> “You want to grab dinner? Tonight?” He asks with his deep British accent, Florence found herself staring at Carisi who inspected his car’s hood for any scratches and smiles to herself, 
> 
> “Sorry, I can’t. I have to work late.”
> 
> “Understood. Florence, think about the proposition we made you. Income is good and its max 6 months.” And with that Henry hung up the call. She lowered her phone, he was right, she needed to think about the proposition, about the case, and about her life.
> 
> 4 pm
> 
> Florence and Carisi arrived at the precinct, it was almost empty, they gathered Fin and Elliot, they all gathered around Florence and her laptop. She opened her e-mail and Henry had indeed sent her what she had asked for. She opened it and her eyes widened, 
> 
> “Cause of death is undetermined! I was right!” 
> 
> “Seriously?!” Carisi said stoked, Fin took her laptop and started reading,
> 
> “She died due to lack of oxygen, they say they found her choked with her schools uniform tie, and thats why the parents say it was suicide, but the medical examiner wasn’t so sure…” Fin reads, Florence raises her eyebrow at Carisi, 
> 
> “So now what?” He asks, trying to ignore Florence’s taunting
> 
> “We need to exhume her body.” Florence said, with a serious expression, the three men looked at her with wide eyes, 
> 
> “You’re crazy…” Fin said as he put the laptop down slowly, 
> 
> “She deserves that we find out what happened to her, this is the only way we can…” she defended
> 
> “I don’t like this.” Elliot said with his arms crossed 
> 
> “When do you like any of my ideas? You’re always skeptical of my abilities.” Florence replies as she crosses her arms,
> 
> “This has nothing to do with you, or your abilities, It’s a kids body were talking about, it should be treated with respect.” He argues back annoyed
> 
> “You all think I’m heartless for saying this, but, I believe that her soul is already with god, her body means nothing more than biological compost. From now on, her body will only deteriorate more and more until its completely consumed by the ground. Doing this for her is more than respect, its justice. She deserves it as much as anybody else. Dead or Alive.” Florence’s chest rises and falls rapidly, 
> 
> “Fine. I’ll get the Warrant.” Elliot gives in and grabs his jacket, “Meanwhile you two are going to dig up everything and anything on the Windsor family. Got it?” Both Carisi and Florence nodded inagreement 
> 
> “What do I do?” Fin asked as he sat on his desk, 
> 
> “Since you’re so comfortable, start calling all the neighbours and get statements both the family!” 
> 
> -London, June 2017- 
> 
> Florence wakes up to a bright white room, as she tries to rub her eyes she feels restraints around both her wrists, she moves them around violently as the metal scratches her skin and makes it bleed.
> 
> Her eyes blink violently as she tries to accustom them to the brightness, she feels the blood rushing thru her veins, and her heart pounding against her rib cage, it pounded with such force she could swear it would shatter her bones.
> 
> Florence’s mouth dry, her chest and forehead dripping in sweat, a loud “beeping” noise caught her attention, as she turned her face to the right there was a machine, long plastic tubes connect it to her body, rapidly she started yanking the tubes off of her with her bounded hands. 
> 
> Suddenly she feels hands pushing her against the bed she laid in, she felt a sharp puncture on herright arm, as she looks at it she sees a needle being put inside her, as the liquid is released into her bloodstream she feels drowsy, and suddenly everything is black.
> 
> “Miss William?” Florence hears as she comes back to reality, she’s sitting in a large black armchair, in front of her is a tall, slender, woman. Her hair white as snow, her glasses larger than her face and a sweet smile, “You got distracted Dear.” 
> 
> “Uhm… I’m Sorry Doctor. What was the question?” Florence asked almost in a stutter, her white freckled hands were cold and trembled even thought the room temperature was warm. 
> 
> “I asked, what you remember from that day?” Florence had little to no memory to what day she was referring to, 
> 
> “Wha…. What day?”
> 
> “Two weeks ago, you had your blackout episode at your office Honey, you were being questioned about Thailand…” her voice was sweet, but her words felt like ice knifes were slowly stabbed against Florence’s skin. 
> 
> “I….What?” 
> 
> 25th April 2018
> 
> 9 am
> 
> Florence sat at her desk, waiting for her partner to arrive as she had good news to report. As she waited silty with a hot coffee mug between her white freckled hands she thought of her life. How it had changed, how in less than a month she now lived for only three things, to find Catheryn’s killer, protect Carisi and help victims. But all of them seemed to prevent the other. If she focused on catching the perp, then she wouldn’t be able to truly protect Carisi. And the opportunity she’d been given by Henry, guaranteed she’d help women, and that she’d make a diference, but if she went, she wouldn’t be able to fulfil either of the others. Could she put everything on hold for the Sudan Mission? Could she turn her back on thousands of women to protect one man and catch another? How had her life end up surrounded by men? The thought annoyed her, as the hot coffee slid down her throat.
> 
> Carisi enters the room and walks straight to Florence, since the main hall is empty he kisses her forehead tenderly,
> 
> “Good Morning Agent Wlliams.”
> 
> “Morning Detective!” She smiles, “I have great news!” He raises his right eyebrow in suspicion, with a small smile on his lips,
> 
> “That can’t be good!” She raises both her eyebrows in disapproval, 
> 
> “Anything I say is always good, you should know that by now.” She winked at him, his eyes rolled back as he took off his jacket, allowing Florence to stare at his tight shirt and vest. “We got the authorisation to exhume Natalie’s body, it arrived a few minutes ago at the coroner’s office. She said for us to check in in a few hours.”
> 
> “That’s the good news?” He sat at his desk and raised his eyebrow at her, 
> 
> “Yes, this means we’re closer to knowing if she was truly murdered, or if it was suicide.”
> 
> “I actually had an idea, IF she was murdered, maybe it wasn’t the parents, maybe it was the perp. Maybe he found out she survived and decided to finish her.” Florence took a sip of her coffee and frowned,
> 
> “Then why did he take so long to kill her? They could’ve done it as soon as she went back home from the Hospital.” He protests
> 
> “Maybe at first they tried to live with it?” Florence tried to reason with her partner. He wasn’t convinced, his head shook, 
> 
> “I don’t buy that.” 
> 
> 11 am
> 
> Florence sat on one of the steps of the precincts entrance, the wind blew her hair as she smoked a long needed cigarette, as she smoked she thought about her career. With only 26 years she’d already gotten two medals of honor, she had served enough, she could retire. But there were still women that need her, could she retire from them? Should she? Was it time to settle in one place, get a house a car, and live the “normal” life? She hadn’t even thought of such a life, with a big white fenced house. What did she even want in a life like that? Dominick?


	18. Bodies and Cracks

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Hey! Thanks for reading this far! This chapter is a bit smaller. However, don't give up, the true plot is just starting! 
> 
> Enjoy!

1 pm

Florence and Carisi entered the cold room, its walls and floor were white tiles, making it seem bigger, and a big silver table sat in the centre, on it was something covered with a white sheet. Both Florence and her partner had been in rooms similar to the one the stood in to know exactly what laid on the table. 

A smiling woman entered, fully clothed in white, 

“Hello! You must be the Detectives.” 

“Hi, I’m Agent Williams, and this is Detective Carisi.” 

“Agent? The FBI was called in?” 

“Interpol. I’m from Interpol Mam.” 

“Of Course! That explains the funny accent you have! Are you English?” The coroner asked curiously as she pushed her large black glasses back. Carisi Smirked at the question, knowing it would annoy his partner. 

“No, I’m Irish, lived in London for a while.” The agent replied,

“Oh! Really? I’ve been to Dublin! Do you know the O’neil Family that live there? They’re my friends!” Florence fought the urge to be impolite and forced a smile, 

“Dublin is quite big mam, and O’neil is a very common name in Ireland. So I don’t think I would know your friends.” 

“Are you called O'Neil?” 

“No mam.”

“I guess it's not that common then!” She giggled at her failed attempt to crack a joke, Florence raised her eyebrows, as she prepared to reply, her patience nearly inexistent, her partner intervened, 

“So, what do you have for us?”

“Ah! Yes! Of Course! Almost forgot!” The woman chuckled as she gestured for both of them to come nearer the table, the white blanket is held up, showing the body’s head, there were no eyes, just a mass of scar tissue, the acid had left its marks. The smell made Florence’s stomach turn violently, the skin was greyish and had breaks, and it was obvious some parts where missing, with the sight Florence thought that maybe, it hadn’t been a great idea to exhume the body.

“The girl died with lack of oxygen…” Florence interrupted her, 

“That, we know. We need to know if there was foul play.” The woman sighed, 

“Such a rush, New York is rubbing of you!” She points at what once had been the girl's neck, the bone was visible, Florence looked at it, 

“What am I supposed to see?” 

“A crack in the bone, there, under the chin, that fracture proves, there was foul play, she didn’t asphyxiate due to her tie, she was murdered, someone choked her.” Florence looked at her partner who stared blankly at the dead girl on the table, Florence sighed, 

“What made you draw this conclusion?” 

“Doubting me Girl?” The woman asked with a hostile tone, that made Florence raise both her eyebrows in amusement, 

“No. I just need to be sure.” 

“Fine. If it had been suicide by her tie, no bones would’ve been affected, she would have only marks on her skin since it was murder, she was choked with such force, it fractured the bone. And it also indicates it was most definitely a man.” Florence crossed her arms as she looked at the body, thinking. 

Carisi stood still, his face white as he remained motionless staring at the girl. Florence hid her face, which woke her partner from his trance, he avoided her stare as he excused himself and left. 

“Thank you, we’ll come back for the written file.” 

“It has been sent to Captain Benson.” 

“Very efficient indeed. Many Thanks.” Florence left, she knew where her partner went. 

Carisi entered the men’s room, found his way to the nearest cubicle and his body expelled its content into the toilet. His forehead was wet with sweat, as the image of the dead girl lingered on his mind, his stomach contents were repeatedly cast out.

Florence could hear her Partner puke inside the men's room, she felt bad for him and guilty, it has been her idea to exhume the body. However, it was amusing in a way.

A few minutes of silence passed, and Carisi came out, his face was still white, his hair had been recently combed into place and his ie was slightly loose.

“You good?” She asked amused, her partner sighed and leaned against the cold wall, 

“Yeah.” 

“Liar.” She winked at him jokingly, a weak smile emerged on his face. The agent closed in on the Detective, she was a few inches away from him. His breathing became heavy as she drew nearer, “Your tie is slightly undone Dominick…” she made it tighter as her eyes locked with his, he could smell her sweet perfume which caused the man to clench his jaw tightly in an attempt of controlling himself. Florence could hear his heartbeat, and smell his cologne, she smirked to herself, approached his ear and whispered lightly, “There, it’s perfect now.” Goosebumps rose all over the detective. 

She winked at him as she distanced herself and started walking towards the exit of the morgue. Carisi's inhaled a large amount of air and sighed, “She’s such a tease.” He thought as he followed her with a smirk.

26th April 2018

6 am 

Florence had woken up early and had gone for a run at central park. As the cold morning air hit her face she felt energy growing inside her, the exercise helped her clear her thoughts and focus on what she needed to, the case. 

As she tried to connect the dots her headphones stopped her music and began ringing its ringtone, she picked up, 

“Florence Williams.”

“Good Morning Florence, it’s Henry.” She felt her eyes naturally roll back as he spoke,

“Hey, Henry.”

“Such hostility, woke up grumpy?” He attempted to joke, 

“No, It’s just a bit early for you to call, is there an emergency?”

“Not at all, I presumed you were running so I decided to call. I just returned to New York from Washington, and later today I’m taking care of my suit for the Gala. And, since we’re going together I was wondering what colour your dress is going to be, so my handkerchief matches it. My father insisted.” He reminded her of the dreadful night, 

“I don’t know yet, haven’t taken care of my dress, just take a classic white one Henry.” She responded having no patience for the conversation.

“That’s quite useful, you could accompany me, and we’d take care of both, and grab dinner. My treat.” Florence felt bad for being rude with Henry, he’d been nothing but nice with her, however, he got on her nerves. 

“I’m sorry Henry, you always catch me on the busiest days. Today I have endless paperwork to take care. Raincheck?”

Henry sat inside his large black jeep, the driver had parked perfectly, he had a perfect view of Florence, she had her rebel hair tied in a high ponytail and wore skin-tight leggings and a running top, the view was truly “exquisite” he thought as he stared at her from the car, the woman stretched cluelessly while giving her latest excuse. 

“That’s fine Florence, at the gala we’ll make up for lost time.” And he hung up. However, the car stayed Parker while the woman finished stretching. 

“Adam. Follow the Ginger Woman with the tight ass.” He ordered his driver, he nodded and they followed her to her new building and parked in front of the small Chinese restaurant, with a perfect view to her main window. The tall blue-eyed man made a phone call, 

“Yes, I have the Asset’s dress. Operation OES in progress.” And hung up.

9 am

Florence entered the precinct, as she entered Carisi ran to her, 

“Don’t bother getting in, let’s go.”

“Where?” 

“We’re bringing Natalie’s father in, for questioning. And you have a hot coffee waiting for you there.” He winked as she followed him to the car.

They picked-up Mr.Windsor at his job, and brought him in without much protest, they sat him in the interrogation room and left to get him some water and a coffee. Florence stood on the other side of the interrogation room, staring at the tall scrawny man, he trembled slightly, she couldn’t distinguish it from old age or stress.

Elliot entered the small dark room Florence was in, 

“Who’s conducting the interrogation?” He asked as he folded his arms, 

“Both of us.”

“ah! yes. Bad cop, and good cop! Let me guess, you’re bad cop!” He joked at her, she smirked with a raised eyebrow, 

“Why do you assume I’m the bad one?”

“Because you are physically unable to be nice cop. You’d get sick!” He said with a laugh, she found herself smiling as well. Carisi entered as well, 

“I have his water and coffee. Let’s go?”

“Yes.”


	19. Chinese food and Crime

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> I hope you guys are enjoying the story!

11 am

“This is the LAST time I’m going to ask this. Where were you the night your daughter died?” Florence asked, her voice echoed in the darkroom. The woman’s hair was pulled up in a tight high ponytail while wearing a black turtle neck, a pair of blue jeans, and black boots.

She paced around the man who found himself feeling trapped by the red-haired woman.

Her partner sat quietly on a chair facing perp, he wore a dark grey vest, matching the trousers, a black shirt and a grey necktie. 

“I’ve TOLD you, I was out with friends.” The scrawny man protested, his arms crossed against his chest, the circles around his eyes were his main feature,

“What friends? I want their names.” She spat 

“I don’t remember which ones I was with.” The man half-whispered as he tries desperately not to crack his voice.

A loud “Bam” is heard as Florence bangs her fist against the metal table, with full force, sending a wave of pain up her arm. The pale, slender man jumps startled while her partner remains seated calmly,

“So, you want ME to believe YOU don’t know your fucking friends' name’s?” 

“A young lady shouldn’t speak such words.” He replies, his dry lips spoke with disgust, the young woman smirks ironically, 

“You mean, saying Fuck?” She leans her face closer to the man’s, “ I’m not your daughter. You have no control over me. I can say whatever the fuck I fucking want.”

“Don’t pull Natalie into this. She was no harlot, unlike you.” He growls at the young agent, behind her Carisi tenses up, not liking the way the scrawny man addresses her.

“I will pull her into this. You hated her didn’t you?” The man shakes his head violently, “Yes you did! She went and got herself raped!” The man keeps shaking his head as he puts both his hands against his ears, “Her innocence was taken from her. And you Blamed her! DIDNT YOU?” She raises her voice as the man tried to block out the aggressive agent, “And after that, You KILLED your own fucking daughter!!! DIDNT YOU?”

“I NEVER HURT MY BABY!!! AND I’LL BE DAMNED IF A FUCKING WHORE EVER IMPLIES THAT!!!” The man yells back as he gets up, throwing his chair on to the ground violently, he launches himself towards the agent in anger and is stopped by the other detective's arm, who whispered with a harsh voice, 

“Touch her, and you die.” A brief second of silence installed itself between them.

Florence lays her hand on Carisi’s tense shoulder and pushes him, 

“Let him, I want to see if he has the balls to admit to his sins.” 

“How dare you speak of sins, when you live a life of it?” The man spits towards Florence, who smiles, 

“My sinful life is my problem, not yours.” She opened a file and slips on the table a photo of Natalie’s body “However, I guess we’ll meet in Hell.” 

The man looks away as his face turns red with anger, “I’ll make a great companion in afterlife.” She whispered at his ear while holding up the picture, his shoulders drop as he finally stares at it, his strength leaves his body, and a tear traces his slender face, 

“It’s true, I resented Natalie after her attack.” His large hand obstruct his eyes, and more tears trace his now wet face, “I didn’t even speak to her after it. I hated her for ruining our future…” Florence interrupts him, 

“How does she being raped ruined your future?” Carisi and the Agent stare at each other in confusion, the slender man picks up the chair he had pushed away earlier and sits on it. 

“She was supposed to, marry Adam in December. And for it, she needed to be pure…” his last words where sighs, as his energy had been drained from him, speaking these words had almost aged him 50 years. 

“Who’s Adam?” Florence asked confused, “And why would she marry, she was 12…”

Carisi interrupts her and grabs the man by his sweater collar, and raises him a few inches from the ground, his eyes dark with anger, 

“Adam her Brother?” He asks as the Agent hears this she feels her heart cramp and looks at the man with disgust, 

“Adam’s 10….” She whispers as the man remains silent. Carisi shakes him violently and bangs him against the cold brick wall, 

“ANSWER ME!!!” The man nods slowly, the detective prepared himself to hurt the man however Florence stopped him grabbing his shoulder, 

“Dominick, That's ENOUGH.”

His gaze met hers, a few moments of silence passed until the detective sighed, dropped the man and left the interrogation room. The slender man got up slowly, and dusted himself, 

“Thank you. However, why did you stop him?” As he finished his sentence he felt something hit his face, his nose broke with a sound and blood poured down his nostrils as pain invaded him, the woman punched him with enough force to break both his nose and a tooth.

“Because he could have gotten in trouble.” Florence opens the door to leave, “But I can’t.” And shuts it.

13 pm

Florence entered the precinct with a bag filled with Chinese food, as she entered her teams' main hall she called out for her partner and headed into the conference room where Elliot and Fin waited for her patiently, 

“Is that our food?”

“Yes Fin, its the food.” Florence sighed as she distributed the packages of food, Elliot sat and began to eat, and so did Fin. Carisi entered, sat and waited for Florence. 

“So, what are you going to do now?” Asked Elliot with a mouth filled with Chinese vegetable rolls, Florence took her chopsticks and shrugged, 

“I guess, we’ll have to look further into it. The Windsors are part of religious society in their area.” Carisi said as he opened his partner’s bottle, she smiled as to thank you, 

“A religious society?”

“Yeah, it's like a cult, but it isn’t a cult per se.” He explains to Elliot, Florence remained quiet as she ate her lunch in peace. 

“So, what does that mean?” Finn asked as he opened his second box of noodles, 

“Well, I have a feeling that this disgusting incest story’s source is the weird cult thing. And it must have a leader. They always have a leader.” The blue-eyed detective sighed as he took a sip of his partners' bottle, she frowned at him,

“Yeah, we need to find the leader, get the list of all the others, this might be a whole ring on incest. Which I hope is illegal here.” The young woman said as she closed her lunch and bottle, Elliot nodded giving them a green card to investigate this further.

“And we need to talk about that punch, Florence.” The lieutenant said as Florence avoided his gaze, 

“I hoped we wouldn’t have to.” She said with a smile on her face

“Well, we do. I doubt your boss likes you punching perps every other week…” 

“Well, since I’m accompanying his son to the Gala in five days, I believe I can do what I want to.” Carisi’s jaw tightened with such a reminder. “Speaking of which, has everyone taken care of their attire for the evening? Interpol wants everybody is extremely formal outfits.” She chuckles, “And THAT means, tuxedos for you lads!” Fin and Carisi both rolled their eyes almost simultaneously, Florence felt her lips curl into a smile, 

“Fin, has his, and so do I. What about you Carisi?” The detective sighed loudly in annoyance, 

“No, I haven’t thought about that.” 

“Well, you should. And fast!” Elliot jokes, “Are you afraid to look bad in a tuxedo? Or, does your prom tuxedo not fit anymore?” 

“I look amazing in a tuxedo, FYI. And, I didn’t go to my prom.” Carisi replies with both his eyebrows risen, Florence chuckles at their bickering, 

“Boys, Calm your tits. I’ll go with Dominick get his tuxedo, while you two finish the paperwork of the interrogation. Deal?” She winked at Elliot who frowned,

“How do you always manage to get your way?” 

“It’s the smile!” 

15 pm

Florence sat on a soft black couch in the dressing room, waiting for Carisi to finish trying on his tuxedo, 

“How long does it take to choose a black tux?” She sighed loudly so her partner would hear her, 

“The choosing of a good tux is an art!” As he replied she rolled her eyes, 

“It took me 30 minutes to choose my dress, and I’m a woman. You’re supposed to take half the time.” 

“That is so sexist…” his voice jokingly offended, “How’s the dress?” As he asks he finally steps out of the fitting room, his bow-tie undone and jacket opened, 

“At least you didn’t forget to close the vest.” She jokes as she gets up, “You set? That’s the one?” Carisi widens his eyes and smiles, 

“So naive… I still have to see if I like this one.” A loud sigh escapes the young woman mouth, “Could you help with the bow?” Florence meets his gaze and rolls her eyes, 

“Fine.” She steps closer to her partner, his chin just a few inches above her forehead, her long freckled fingers figuring out the bow-tie dynamics. The tall man with his head straight, and chin facing the ceiling feels her breathing against his neck, causing him to clench his jaw, 

“It’s Emerald Green…” she whispers, his lips form into a half-smile, 

“It must look amazing against your skin…” he says in a deep voice, she chuckles, 

“Dominick Carisi, the Fashion Expert.” 

“Indeed.” Florence finishes the bow and locks her eyes with his as she closes his jacket over the vest, 

“There, ready for the Gala.” Her partner smiles and walks to the mirror, the young woman admires her partners' formal attire, the tuxedo truly fit him like a glove, he made her heart flutter as he turned to her and smiled.

“I look amazing!” He winks at her, 

“You barely look okay. And besides, women don’t like cocky men. Especially not the women at the gala!” She said as she raised her eyebrow, “Speaking of which, who are you taking to the Gala?” 

The detective shrugs and faces the mirror, 

“No one. I’m going on work, not pleasure.” 

“You can have pleasure anyway, I know some women you might like…” as her words leave her lips she feels her heart tighten, in hopes he will decline, 

“Yeah? What do you think I like in women?” 

“What all men like.” She says as her eyebrows rise simultaneously, “ Pretty eyes, a nice smile, big boobs, a flat stomach, a big ass, long legs, soft skin…” as the last words escape as a whisper she is reminded of her back scars, how they occupy the most of the back, The whip that had marked her back gave her chills, and she was reminded how no man would want to see it, especially not Carisi. Her thoughts are interrupted by his laughter, his right-hand finds its way to her shoulder, 

“Not all men are that shallow.”

“No? So what do you like in your women?” She asks with her eyes wide in suspicion. 

“I don’t like women. I want one woman. Just one. And it doesn’t matter any others have that she doesn’t. Because to me, she’s the one.” For a second they both lost themselves in each other gaze until Florence broke it by stepping away and grabbing her bag, 

“She’s a lucky woman then. Don’t lose her, not many would have the patience for you, Dominick.” As she spoke her heart sank lower, each word hurting more than the previous. 

“You ready?” Her partner nodded with a heavy heart, and a thought “I don’t have her…”.


	20. Letters and Freaks

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> The 20th chapter!!! Yey! Almost ending the first book of this series! Thanks for reading this far! I hope you are enjoying the story!

28th April 2018

9 am

The sun was bright and warm against Florence's freckled face, a smile emerged from her usual morning frown, New York seamed beautiful that morning. She stopped by the precinct's entrance and lit her morning cigarette, as the smoke entered her lungs she felt thoughts ramble in her mind. The gala was three days away, she knew Henry would ask her what her final decision on the Sudan mission was. If she accepted the job offer the investigation would come to a halt, at least as long as she'd be in Sudan, and that meant more months the bastard would be free. Her thoughts were interrupted,

“Morning Williams!” the familiar voice of her partner made her smile wider,

“Good Morning Dominick!” she winked at him and put out her cigarette as he kissed her forehead lightly allowing his scent to enter her nostrils, “You smell nice, finally had a shower?” she joked as he raised an eyebrow,

“Excuse you? I always smell heavenly! Unlike you red-haired raccoon...” her eyebrows furrowed in amusement and confusion,

“Raccoon? They are cute, that was a shit insult Dominick Carisi!”

“You know what I meant!”

“What I know is that you should buy a dictionary!” she bursts into laughter as he stares at her with both his eyebrows raised,

“You finished?” he asks trying to hide his smile, his Partner nods and cups his face with her slender freckled hand,

“Yes, my dear illiterate partner!” she winks still laughing as they walk up the stairs together. As they enter their main hall they find the whole team huddled around one the young woman's desk. As she gets closed Elliot stops her,

“Wait, we don't know what it is, or who left it.” she furrows both her eyebrows and passes beside him, there was a long white envelope in the centre of her desk, in black ink, she read, “From Him to You.”

“It's clearly from the perp! You shouldn't touch it!” Carisi said as he grabbed her hand, she released it and spoke loudly so everyone would listen,

“It's just an envelope, it's not a bomb, it's not poison, its just a threat! I can touch it, if it were harmful we'd know by now already.” rolling her eyes she grabbed the envelope and ripped it open,

“Soon we will meet again, either dancing, either drinking, either just staring. I will not kill you then. Until then.”

Florence sighed loudly, and handed the piece of paper to Olivia as she sat on her desk,

“He's going to the Gala.” she informed her co-workers, a loud “What?” emerged from her partner who took the piece of paper from Olivia's hand and read it.

“You're not going then,” he said as he looked for a hidden message on the piece of white paper.

“The fuck I'm not! Of course, I'll be attending the Gala! This is an opportunity!” the young woman protested, “You can monitor who looks, speaks and dance's with me, and that will be our suspect list! It's brilliant!” and a smile formed on her pale freckled face, Carisi sighed in annoyance,

“It's dangerous!”

“It's not! Do you think he's going to murder me in the middle of an Interpol Gala? That would be suicide, besides, he liked the hunt, that's what this is!” The blue-eyed man clenched his jaw in annoyance and stared at their captain, waiting for her opinion,

“For once, I do agree with Florence. It is a good opportunity to finally have an idea of who the guy is.” The tall detective widened his eyes in disbelief,

“What? Are you all crazy? This is crazy!!!” his voice rose, as did Florence,

“It's not! And it's happening, either you help or you don't Dominick. None of us are stupid, we know how to do this the safest possible.” the young agent said as she took the paper from his hands, “You have two days to decide if you're in or out.” she left with both the envelope and the paper, he was left with the rest of the team looking at him, Elliot patted him on the back,

“You keep coming on THAT hard, she'll run!” with this everyone chuckled except the Tall detective,

“Hilarious Elliot!” he rolled his eyes and grabbed his jacket to accompany Florence.

“Either they realize what's going on between them, or Barba tells them. This is getting annoying.” Amanda chuckled as Carisi left.

Florence stood at the entrance as Carisi stepped out, he looked at the young Agent confused,

“Yes, I was waiting for you,” she replied his silent question,

“That's good?” he chuckled

“I guess. Cmon, let's get this to the CSI team, see if it had any prints.” the young woman winked at him and with a smile.

11 am

Florence sat at her desk with her laptop opened in front of her, as she looked through all of the Windsor contacts, they had few friends and even fewer family.

“Hey! Guys! Check out what I found!” the young woman said loudly, Carisi, Elliot and Fin approached her desk, “So, I was checking family members of the Windsors, and they have close to nothing. And the, I cross-referenced their families names, the parents I mean. And......” she attempted to drumroll on her desk, immediately stopped as she met Elliot's gaze “Fine, They're brother and sister! And so where their parents! Its a freak show of a family!”

All three men straightened themselves up and looked at each other confused, disgusted and incredulous,

“Surprised fellas?” she asked with a smirk

“It's Disgusting.” Fin said in-between Coffs, Florence nodded in agreeance, and returned to her laptop and started typing vigorously,

“It's not the end of my treasure hunt.” the men approached her laptop once again, “So since we thought this might be a cult thing, I tried to find out if any of their friends were as much of freaks as they are. And...” before she could drumroll her desk Elliot interrupted her,

“Just spit it out please.” the young agent rolled her eyes and continued, “You ruin all the fun. Well, I found six more families in the same situations, all of them with children between the ages of 10 and 16.”

“That means some might have married their kids already. We need to go arrest them!” Fin said straightening himself up, ready to leave. Carisi shook his head,

“No, we cant. We need to find the overseer.”

“The what?” his colleague asked confused,

“The boss, the chief, the big gun,” Elliot explained as Florence took her glasses off and rubbed her tired eyes,

“Dominick is right. We can't arrest them just yet.” The red-haired woman said as her eyes remained closed,

“What about the kids?”

“I know its horrible and disgusting, but if we go in full force, the main guy might go rogue. We can't afford that, because he might know what truly happened to Natalie, and he might even know the Bedroom Murderer.”

“I think that's too much of a stretch Florence.”

“Is it? Think about it! They might have met, or something like that. You never know. The world is a small place!” Fin sighed in annoyance and sat on his desk,

“And how do you propose we find the main guy?”

“We find a common link between all these freaks.”


End file.
